Landslide
by choose joy xox
Summary: Sequel to You're Everything. Toby and Spencer's relationship is stronger than ever. What happens when they, along with Hanna and Caleb, begin to be tormented by a mysterious person called A? Will they stay strong, or will they crumble under pressure? Spoby, Haleb, and a very dark A. Read, Review, Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

And here it is! The next installment in my Spoby story. Some background. Other than a few details, the background details of the story are similar.

1. Aria and Emily won't have huge parts in this story. Emily moved to Texas to be with her dad, and Aria' s family extended the Iceland sabbatical indefinitely.

2. I'm not sure of the exact timeline in the show, but you should assume that everything happened with Ali about two months after the Jenna thing.

3. Everything that happened in You're Everything stands true here. In the time lapse Hanna and Caleb started dating.

4. Speaking of time lapses, this story takes place about a year and a half after the end of You're Everything.

Ready, set, go! The first few chapters will be posted one a day, but it will slow down once I get back to school. I may set a review limit before I post, but hopefully that won't be necessary!

Okay, you wonderful people! Read, Review, enjoy!

Prologue

SPOV

The cool night air whipped around her small frame as she sprinted in what she hoped was the correct direction. Branches snapped and cut at her face as she ran through the dense woods, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered but getting there in time.

Her breathing came out in haggard, short breaths. The woods began to clear, and she could see the building ahead. She glanced down at her watch and her heart sank as she saw that she had only forty seconds left. She wasn't going to make it.

No. No, she was going to make it or die trying. She couldn't lose them. She wouldn't.

With approximately thirty feet to go the barn exploded into a mess of red and orange flames. The blast sent a shock wave through the forest that sent her sailing backwards and into a tree.

When she was coherent she shakily scrambled to her feet and cautiously approached where they were supposed to be.

No. No no no. When the smoke cleared it became clear that there was nothing left. She stumbled on her knees to the edge of the newly created hole.

She was too late. They were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Next chapter here we go! I know you guys will be happy to know that I'm about five chapters ahead in my writing, and that the next chapter will be posted at some point tomorrow. I'm actually really really excited for this story, and I hope you guys are too! I will keep this brief, and just let you get too it!

This chapter is for spencie who was a loyal reviewer over at You're Everything, and who gave me my first review for this story.

Read, Review, and Enjoy!

Chapter 1

SPOV

Spencer stood with a broad smile at the entrance to the juvenile hall in which Toby was currently being held. For the past year she had felt a pang of sadness when she passed this building, but now she looked at it and all she felt was hope. After twelve long months Toby was finally being released.

After the Jenna Thing, as the girls had taken to calling it, Toby had swiftly been sentenced to eighteen months of high supervision in Rosewood's juvenile penitentiary. But the guards saw in Toby what everyone else saw when they got to know him, and his sentence was quickly shortened due to his exemplary behavior.

Toby's sacrifice last May was hardly met without harsh repercussions. After visiting Jenna and examining her injuries Toby's parents had made the supremely unfair decision to kick him out of the house. Spencer felt a pang of guilt in her chest every time she thought about it. She knew that his memories of home weren't the greatest, but it was still home. And he was justifiably devastated; not that he told Spencer that. He tried to spare her the brunt of his emotions so that he didn't strengthen her guilt. She got her inside information from Caleb.

And thank God for Caleb. Without him Toby would have had no where to call home after being released. A few months ago Caleb's mother allowed him to move in to the loft above the Brew, and Toby would be joining him there shortly. The boys could have their man cave slash not so bachelor pad.

Spencer was abruptly pulled from her thoughts as she caught sight of the face that she had been waiting for walking away from his former prison. After a year of no physical contact she couldn't help but run to him. His blank expression turned into a grin as she drew nearer. His bag fell to the ground and he met her with open arms. Toby's strong arms wrapped securely around her waist as he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met in a fit of passion as each tried to express how much they had missed the other.

She reluctantly pulled her lips from his, but as soon as she saw his face her mouth stretched out into a smile. "I missed you so much."

He chuckled softly and leaned down to brush his lips against her neck. She shivered at the contact and unconsciously moved closer to him.

"I missed you too," he murmured into her ear.

She smiled and laced her fingers together with his. "Do you want me to take you home?"

He nodded and scooped his bag up from the cement. Always the gentlemen, he walked her to the driver's side and opened the door for her. Once he was sure that the door was shut behind her he walked over to his side of the car and slid inside.

Being so close to Toby after so long was almost overwhelming. They had written, of course. But due to the severity of his 'crime' he wasn't allowed to have visitors that weren't family. She slipped her right hand off of the steering wheel and grabbed his hand. Constant contact was going to be necessary for awhile.

After ten minutes of driving she pulled up in front of the Brew. "Okay, so Caleb asked me to help decorate. I tried to make it something you would like too, but if you don't like it I can try again." She said nervously.

He leaned over to press a quick kiss to her forehead. "I missed your adorable, neurotic tendencies. I'm sure I'll love it."

Toby moved to leave her car, but Spencer immediately reached out to stop him. "I should warn you. You know Hanna and Caleb are dating now, right?"

He nodded slowly, not quite sure where she was going with that. His confusion was adorable, but she made sure to smile so that he knew that it wasn't anything too serious. "Well, first, they are rather adorable together. They're always teasing each other. Secondly, Hanna dropped about fifty pounds. But don't act too shocked. Most people appreciate it when others comment on their weight loss, but Hanna had always been a freak. And third, they picked up Chinese food and are here to welcome you back. I thought you might need a little foreknowledge."

Toby laughed and leaned over to kiss her. "I love you. Let's go see our crazy friends."

They walked hand and hand together into the new loft. She handed Toby the key with a smiled and allowed him to unlock the door to his new home. Before he had a chance to open the door it swung open from the inside and a mass of blonde curls wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.

"Toby!"

Spencer smiled as she watched her boyfriend and her best friend hug it out. Her parents may never approve, but Hanna was as good as family. It meant a lot to her that Hanna approved.

Toby chuckled and pulled away so that he could see her. "Hanna! How are you?"

Spencer noted his smooth avoidance of Hanna's dramatic transformation. A year in juvie didn't do anything to stifle his perfection. Her heart constricted as she noted how her love for him had only increased. Apparently absence really did make the heart grow fonder. But he better not go anywhere for awhile, because she couldn't possibly love him anymore. Her heart would burst.

She followed silently behind a chattering Hanna and Toby. Her silence should not have been taken as a sign that she was upset. It was actually just the opposite. There had been few times in her life in which she had been more happy. She has her boyfriend back and two of her best friends and enough Chinese food to feed a small army. Life was good.

"Spencer, get your skinny butt over here so we can get working on our Chinese food babies!"

Her thoughts had distracted her to the point that she hadn't noticed that the other three had begun to dish out the food. Another smile graced her face as she sat between Caleb and Toby.

Caleb reached behind Spencer's shoulders and nudged Toby. "Did you get any good food in the slammer?"

He snorted and shook his head. "Bouncy hamburger meat and soggy French fries were basically a staple of my diet last year."

She had been trying to hide it, but his words brought about a new surge of guilt. He could have been eating anything he wanted to eat if she had maybe fought a little harder. She lightly placed her hand on his thigh as she began to methodically shove bites of fried rice into her mouth.

It was almost as though he could sense her distress, because he almost immediately put his hand on top of hers in a comforting gesture.

Spencer smiled lightly at him, but she was met with a face that she knew meant that they would have a conversation later when they were alone. She winced before turning to Caleb and Hanna. "So, was getting the Chinese too difficult? Sorry I couldn't pick it up."

Caleb shook his head no. "It wasn't a problem, Spencer."

She turned to Hanna, but instead of receiving confirmation of their easy task she was met by her best friend's alarmingly red face from suppressed laughter. "Tell her the truth, Caleb!"

He gave Hanna an accusing look before turning back to Spencer while awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "The old lady who runs the cash register asked me out."

Spencer immediately began to choke on the bite of egg roll that she was chewing. "Like on a date?"

Hanna nodded eagerly and decided to reply in Caleb's place. "YES! And when he hesitated she started to describe what they'd do. Apparently dates with tiny, old Chinese women include hot stones, a bucket of goat milk, and stripping down to their underwear!"

Toby let out a long snort before dissolving into a fit of hysterical laughter. "You.. Chinese... goat..." He sputtered out between his peels of laughter.

Spencer shook her head and tried to refrain from laughing. It was really convenient that Caleb had picked up the food. She didn't want to shame him into never doing it again."I'm sure Hanna's exaggerating."

Caleb shrugged his shoulders and smiled a half smile. "For once she's not exaggerating."

Hanna smiled in satisfaction before realizing what he had said. She let out an indignant huff and slapped Caleb on the arm. "Rude!"

Caleb laughed at her attempted to hit him and leaned over the table to kiss her. As they pulled apart he temporarily put on a serious face. "I love you."

"As you should," smirked Hanna before sitting down.

Spencer began to tune out their playful bickering and turned to Toby. "See what I mean? Completely adorable teasing."

Toby smiled briefly before shaping his face into a more serious expression. "Are you okay?"

She considered lying, but in the end she decided that was a terrible idea. He already knew the answer to his question. He just wanted to see how honest she would be. Time to surprise him. "That's a hard question. I am absolutely thrilled you're home, but I still feel incredibly guilty over the fact that you ended up there in the first place."

He opened his mouth to respond, but he immediately shut it again. His hand gently brushed some hair out of her face. "I wouldn't have wanted you there, Spencer. You didn't deserve it any more than I did."

"I brought Alison into your life."

The intense look in his eyes cause her to shiver and her heart jump in her chest. "I would do anything for you. Literally anything. This was nothing, I promise. Besides, it was much easier to be there myself than to worry about you being there."

She nodded reluctantly, not because she agreed but because she could hear Caleb and Hanna's fake fight dying down.

Hanna's eyes traveled to all their faces. She bounced up and down excitedly and passed out fortune cookies. "Fortune Cookie time!"

Spencer smiled at Hanna and cracked open the cookie that she had passed to her. The fortune was wider than usual, which was a bit strange, but not a cause for alarm. She unrolled it and her forehead wrinkled in confusion as she read the words.

'Let the loser take the fall? How do you even live with yourself? Kisses -A'

She felt her face pale slightly before looking up at her friends. Was this someone's idea of a sick joke? The accusatory thoughts fell from her thoughts as she noticed all of them reading their fortunes with varying degrees of distress.

If they didn't do it who had? The only people who knew what was on this fortune were the three people in this room. Aria and Emily knew as well, but they were in Iceland and Texas, respectively. Alison knew too, but she was dead.

"What did your fortunes say?" Hanna asked in an uncharacteristically small voice.

Spencer reluctantly placed her in the middle of the table for them to read, and she carefully avoided Toby's eyes.

Hanna bit her lip and put her fortune in the middle.

'Better pick up back up the two finger diet unless you want Hefty Hanna to make a reappearance. Kisses -A.'

Spencer's eyes immediately looked at Hanna. Before she was able to ask for clarification Hanna spoke up on her own.

"It was just one time. Right before we stopped hanging out with Alison I had just binged. I ate an entire pie or something. She came in and was actually really sweet for once. She taught me how to throw up. But I only did it that once. It was disgusting."

Just when she thought she couldn't hate Alison more she was proved wrong. She didn't want to speak ill of the dead, but how horrible was this girl. Spencer reached across the table and lightly put her hand on top of her best friend's. "Han, you know how dangerous that is, right?"

She nodded and wiped away a few lingering tears under her eyes. Spencer glanced slightly to the right and felt somewhat vindicated by the livid expression on Caleb's face. At least she wasn't the only one angry with Alison. Caleb wrapped his arm around Hanna and pulled her over so that he could plant a kiss on the side of her head.

Without letting go of Hanna he put his fortune down in the middle of the table.

'Who would have thought a sexy guy like you would end up with Hefty Hanna? It would be too bad if someone took her away from you. Kisses! -A.'

"Is that a threat? Or is someone just messing with us?" He asked in a low, angry voice. His tone also contained hints of confusion and desperation.

Toby sighed and put his fortune down for everyone to read. "Mine is a little more clear."

'You rejected me. No one does that and gets away with it. You may have taken the fall for your bitch girlfriend, but wouldn't it be funny if it was for nothing? It would be easy to get rid of her. Kisses, A!'

Spencer could hear the stress and tension in his tone, and she knew he was actually worried about what was on his fortune. She smiled softly in his direction and gave his hand a small squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere."

His forehead wrinkled in concern and he gripped her hand more tightly. "But..."

She shook her head and cut off his worry. "I'm not going anywhere, Toby."

He nodded and pulled her down so that her head down to his shoulder. She felt as he rested his head on top of hers. Spencer took a deep breath. "So, Alison was the only one who knew all of these things?"

"But she's dead," Caleb replied in confusion.

Before she had a chance to reply, all of their phones went off at once. They exchanged worried glances before looking down at their phones.

_I'm still here bitches. And I know everything. Kisses, A._


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter starts where the last one left off, and things should start to escalate pretty quickly! Hope you love it!

This is for nevermindthebuttocks and hopeforspoby! You guys literally leave the best reviews!

Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Review and let me know your favorite parts!

Chapter 2

_I'm still here bitches. And I know everything. Kisses, A._

Spencer looked down at her phone. The amount of emotions she was currently feeling was almost overwhelming. This obviousLy wasn't Alison. Dead people can't send text messages. But who else would know what this person knew?

Hanna shuddered and reached for the unopened box of shrimp fried rice. "I think we need more food." She distractedly opened up the package and dug up a fork full to put on her plate. When she pulled out the fork, instead of being full of rice it was full of squirming maggots.

Hanna stared at the bugs in horror. She dropped the fork and ran to the bathroom. After a moment a loud retching noise could be heard from across the apartment. Caleb got up without a word and followed her into the bathroom. Spencer could her him speaking soft, comforting words to Hanna.

As soon as Caleb had walked out of sight Spencer's phone went off again. She eyed it apprehensively and flipped it over. "It's from an unknown number. I'm scared to open it."

Toby frowned and took the phone from her. He hesitated before opening the phone. It was obvious from the look on his face that it was not good news. "It's from the A person."

Spencer shuddered from an unwelcome dose of fear. She took her phone in a shaky and read through the text.

_LOL. I knew I could make her throw up again. Wait until you see what else I can do. I'll be in touch soon. Kisses! A_

She closed her eyes and shook her head. How did A know when Hanna went to puke?

"Can A see us?" Toby asked, voicing her own concerns.

Spencer stood up anxiously. The curtains were opened. Maybe A was watching them from across the street. The curtain rod was high above her head so she struggled to reach it.

Seeing that she was struggling Toby came up from behind her. He closed the curtains, and then he turned her around so that she was facing him. His hands rubbed gently from her shoulders to her elbows. "Are you okay?"

Spencer was freaking out, but she certainly wasn't going to tell him that. It was his first day of freedom, and he didn't need to spend it worrying about her precarious emotional stability. "I'm okay."

Toby gave her an annoyed frown. "Spencer," he pressed.

"I'm scared, okay? I don't understand what's going on, and I don't understand how this A person can see us." She said softly, annoyed to admit it. But after everything Toby had done for her she also didn't feel right lying.

He nodded and continued his path between her arms and shoulders as he considered what to say. "I'll keep you safe." His words were soft, but the truth behind his words was undeniable. She knew that it was true. He would protect her with everything he had in him.

She knew that he would do his best to protect her, but that's not what worried her. "I'm not so worried about myself, to be honest."

He let out a long, incredulous sigh. "Of course. Of course that's what you're worried about. Spencer, don't worry about me."

Spencer snorted and grabbed her purse. "I'll be back in like twenty minutes. Hanna's panicking. When she comes down from the panic she will move to upset. And an upset Hanna requires a jar of chocolate frosting and a spoon."

She turned to walk out the door, but she was stopped by Toby's strong hand grabbing a hold of her forearm.

"You realize that I'm not letting you out of my sight right now?"

If it had been anyone other than Toby she would have snapped that she could take care of herself. But with Toby she just found it kind of adorable.

"Fine. But I should tell you that you make it really hard to be a modern post-feminist when you go all alpha male."

The love was obvious in his eyes as he took a step closer to her. "Why? Do you want me to stop?" He asked in a voice dripping in a mock serious tone.

Spencer bridged the gap between them and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "No," she laughed. Her hand reached out for his, and they left the apartment together.

* * *

The store was only a few minutes away, so they were able to arrive fairly quickly. After paying for four tubs of frosting they walked back out to Spencer's car.

"What's that?"

Spencer glanced at Toby and followed his eyes to her wind shield. Someone had placed a large, manila envelope under the wiper on the passenger side. She reluctantly reached for it and pulled it to her so that the two of them could read it. The outside of it had both of their names on it.

Her breath hitched in her throat. She knew that they had to open it, so she pushed down her fear and turned to Toby determination in her eyes. "Do you want to open it or do you want me too?"

He took it off of her and ripped the envelope open. Spencer took one half of the letter, and began to read.

_I know you don't know me yet. But I assure you that when I make a threat it should be taken seriously. The only way to keep each other safe is for you to stay away from each other. If you do not break up I will systematically destroy your lives. You've been warned, bitches. Remember, I see everything._

_Kisses!_

_A_

Spencer began to shake lightly in anger. Who did A think they were? Furthermore, who did A think that SHE was? Spencer Hastings wasn't going to take shit from a faceless person posing as her best friend turned enemy. She turned to face Toby and raised her eyebrows questioningly. "We're not doing this, right?"

He hesitated before nodding in agreement.

His hesitation made her nervous. "Do you want to break up with me? Don't let me talk you in to anything that you don't want to do."

"No!" This time there was literally no hesitation in Toby's response, which did a great deal to placate her distress. "No, Spencer that's not it. I just... if someone hurt you and I could have done something to prevent it then I never would be able to forgive myself."

She sighed. He was right, of course. She would feel the same way if anything happened to him. But she couldn't leave him. She wouldn't. "A is a terrorist. We can't give in to her demands. Think about World War 2. No one stood up to Hitler and he almost destroyed the world."

Toby laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. "My little nerd. Can I drive?"

She nodded and handed him her keys. Toby walked around to her side of the car to open her door. As he shut it behind her she pulled out her phone to check her texts. She smiled at one from Emily. God, she missed that girl.

When Toby got in he quickly started the car and pulled out onto the highway. She began to ask him a question, but she paused as he ran a red light. "You remember that red means stop, right?" She teased him. As soon as she turned to look at him she regretted it. "Toby, what's wrong?"

His knuckles were white as held onto the steering wheel. "The breaks aren't working."

Spencer immediately tensed at his tone. She had never heard him sound so genuinely afraid. "Okay. Okay, how fast are you going?"

He glanced quickly at the speedometer before shifting his eyes back to the road. "65."

"So we shouldn't wreck then. It definitely wouldn't be ideal. You'll be okay. You got this. Just focus on the road."

He nodded, too focused on the road to respond to her. The air was filled with the sound of honking car horns as Toby weaved in and out of the dense traffic. Spencer sighed in relief as she saw that he really was doing a great job. "Nice moves, Mario Kart."

He shot her a tense smile, and focused on the road. As she watched him she saw a large, black SUV pulled up in the lane to their left. The SUV drove alongside them for a moment before the driver, hidden by tinted windows, twisted their wheel to the right and slammed hard into the side of her car; causing Spencer's head to bounce sickeningly off of her window.

There was little that Toby could do without the ability to brake. The car spun as the force pushed it to the right and off the road. They rolled down a steep ravine, and eventually came to a stop 100 feet away from the road.

As they stopped Spencer tried to focus, but she couldn't. Her stomach heaved,and she vomited, partially due to motion sickness and partially due to the fact that she hit her head. Everything hurt, and it felt like she was only half present. She could hear Toby calling her name, but before she managed to reply everything went black and she passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

So chapter 3. Haha okay this is a sad one. Let me forewarn you beautiful people of that. Also, I was listening to A Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope when I wrote this. You know, if you are one of those people that like to have something to listen to when you read. Once again, this one starts right where the last chapter ends. Only this one is from Toby's point of view.

This is a very Spoby chapter! There will be more Haleb coming up soon!

Also, stick with me. Things aren't quite as bad as they appear. This is my longest chapter ever! But there wasn't really a good place to split it up.

Chapter 3

TPOV

When the car finally rolled to a stop Toby grabbed his stomach and groaned. This wasn't an accident. Someone had run them off the road. Was it that A person? Did they really try to hurt them because they refused to break up?

He turned his head to the side to check on Spencer, and sat up in alarm when he saw her. There was a steady stream of blood dripping from her forehead. He could hear her taking in short, labored breaths. Her right arm was twisted into a grotesque position and was obviously badly broken.

And suddenly his own pain no longer mattered. Nothing else mattered while Spencer was in trouble. "Spencer?" He asked softly, hoping that she was awake.

She moaned slightly, before going quiet.

"Spencer! Oh God, Spencer please wake up."

Toby Cavanaugh had been through a lot in his short life, but he could honestly admit that he had never been more afraid. She had to be okay. He couldn't live without her. Not any more.

He quickly glanced over her body; he was scared to touch anything, but he knew that he had to if he had any chance of waking her up. His hand lightly touched her shoulder. "Spencer!"

A cry of frustration escaped his throat. He didn't know what to do. Should he he out of the car and try to flag down a car? As he looked at her he knew that wasn't it an option. There was no way that he was going to be able to leave Spencer when she was hurt and vulnerable. Especially when it was his fault to begin with. If only he had seen that stupid car coming.

"Spencer please wake up!"

He wasn't even ashamed of the tears that were pouring down his cheeks. She was all that he had left. Seeing her laying in that seat, bleeding, unconscious, and broken, was killing him. If he could take her pain he would do so without a second thought.

"Spencer, PLEASE."

The relief he felt as he heard the approaching sirens was like nothing he had ever felt. He wiped away the stream of blood that continued to drip down, and was discouraged when more appeared.

Toby glanced out his window and saw an ambulance parked where they went over. He knew he needed to get out to direct them, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Spencer. After a moment of consideration he placed a shaky hand on either side of her face and pressed his lips to her forehead. He tried to pull away, but he couldn't do it. His lips found their way to her forehead again. It was hard to imagine having to do anything harder than this, but he knew it had to be done.

He clenched his jaw and forced himself to pull away and exit the car. As he did so he noticed a pair of paramedics nearly at the bottom of the hill. They noticed them at the same time that he had noticed them.

"Hey kid, are you okay? How many people were in the car?"

He felt an irrational surge of annoyance. Why were they asking about him when Spencer needed their help? "I'm fine. But my girlfriend's not. Please, hurry."

The man in front nodded and walked to the passenger side of the car. As soon as he opened the door he began to check Spencer's vital signs and condition. While he did that the other paramedic attempted to check over Toby. With that his annoyance rapidly turned into a surge of anger. He twisted away from him. "No, stop. Don't worry about me. Check on her."

The other paramedic hesitated. "Look kid. You're running on adrenaline right now. Before too long it's going to go away and all you'll feel is pain."

"Frank, help me load her up, will you? She needs to get to the hospital."

The voice of the other paramedic brought on a fresh round of panic. Why did this have to happen to her? Why couldn't it have been him? Frank, the paramedic, rounded the car with the stretcher. Toby followed close behind him, not willing to let Spencer out of his sight for even a second. "Will she be okay?"

"They'll do everything they can."

Toby nodded, trying to calm himself down. He wasn't going to be any good to anyone if he was having a panic attack. He took a deep breath. "Okay, can I ride with you?"

Frank nodded immediately, "Yeah. Just don't get in the way of anything."

The sympathy in his eyes was more than apparent, but he didn't care. Not if it meant that he could stay with Spencer.

As he climbed into the back of the ambulance his phone went off. He took a moment to check his text.

_She got off easy. Next time I won't be so generous. Maybe now you know to take me seriously. -A_

* * *

Toby was good at a lot of things, but waiting wasn't one of them. He took a quick glance at his watch and immediately felt dejected as he noted that he had only been in the emergency room waiting room for a half an hour. He knew that it would take time to help her, but he had to know that she was going to be okay.

"Toby!"

His head whipped up, and he faced Hanna with sad eyes. The concern was obvious on her face. "Oh Toby. What happened?"

He scarcely noticed as Caleb walked up behind her. He shook his head and looked back down at the ground. Now that Spencer was with the doctors he had nothing to focus on but his guilt.

He felt her sit down next to him, but he still couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Did you call her parents?"

"They'll be here late tonight. Apparently their meetings were more important than their daughter." He said softly. He didn't understand her parents, but that didn't matter right now.

The chair next to him moved as Caleb sat down on his other side. "Toby, you need to tell us what happened."

"Please?" Hanna added.

He nodded, but didn't raise up his eyes. This was all too much. "We went to pick something up at the store. When we came out there was a letter telling us to break up or there would be consequences. Obviously we ignored it, but then on the way back home a black SUV ran us off of the road"

Hanna breathed in sharply and took a moment before answering. He didn't blame her. This was too much to take in. "Was the letter from A?"

Toby nodded, grateful that words weren't necessary this time. Emotion was constricting his throat, and he felt sure that he would begin to cry again if he tried to speak.

"Is there anyone here for Spencer Hastings?"

Toby immediately stood up, and before he realized what he was doing he had quickly walked up to the doctor. "Is she okay?"

"Is anyone family? We can't share anything until a family member is present."

"She's my sister," Said a firm voice from behind him. Toby turned around and saw a look on Hanna's face that no one could deny. Spencer and Hanna looked nothing alike, but even though he knew better he almost believed her.

The doctor stared at her for a moment as though he was considering her claim. "Okay," he finally stated with a short nod. Toby felt a surge of immense relief that Hanna was there. He never would have been able to lie in such a convincing manner.

"She is still not conscious. We don't know when she will wake up, but she should be fine in the long run. You're free to sit with her if you so desire, but just know that she could be out for awhile longer. In addition she also has a badly broken arm. And there are also various bruises and lacerations. Any questions?"

When no one had questions the doctor nodded briefly. "Room 487." He said before moving on to the next family.

Toby knew that Hanna and Caleb would follow him, but he couldn't wait. He had to get to Spencer. He had to see that she was alright. The hospital had many confusing twists and turns, but he was eventually able to find her room.

As much as he wanted to see her, he didn't know how well he would handle seeing her in a hospital bed. He jumped as he felt a small hand on his back. Instinctively he knew it wasn't Jenna, but it was hard to convince himself of that when he was startled. He was doing so much better, but sometimes he still felt afraid.

An apologetic Hanna moved into his line of sight. "Sorry. But are you okay?"

He hesitated before shaking his head no. No other explanation would make sense right now. He was not okay, but he was too anxious to stop and explain the obvious.

The sight of Spencer laying vulnerable in a hospital bed was enough to take his breath away. She may have been small, but her larger than life personality was enough to keep anyone's attention. Seeing her laying helpless was just so wrong.

The room was so small that he had no trouble reaching her side in just a few steps. He perched on the chair closest to her bed and placed his hand on top of hers. "I'm here, Spencer. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Hanna looked down at Spencer sadly and rubbed her arm in comfort. "Go ahead and wake up now Sleeping Beauty. We need to see that you're okay."

Caleb laughed at Hanna's statement before glancing at Toby's face. "And Toby looks really sad Spence! Wake up and give him a kiss. I bet that would make him feel better."

"And we won't even make fun of your disgusting display of affection," Hanna chimed in helpfully.

Toby shrugged and leaned over to press his lips to her forehead. "They're right Spencer. I could use a kiss. But take all the time you need."

Before he managed to sit back down he heard her raspy voice reply from the bed. "You shouldn't be talking about disgusting displays of affection, Han."

His heart jumped and he pulled backward with a grin. Her words were quiet and slow, but at least she was responding. He cupped her cheek with one hand and brushed her hair back with the other. "Spence?"

A loud peel of laughter sounded from behind him. Toby didn't have to turn around to know it was Caleb. Subtly had never been his cousin's strong point. "Spencer's like Sleeping Beauty for real! Toby's kiss woke her up!"

Toby smiled and continued to methodically brush her hair back. Fairy tale irony was a wonderful thing. His smile only grew as he watched Spencer flutter her eyes open. She was okay. The doctor had said that she would be, but he hadn't fully believed it until he saw that she was awake.

"What- what happened?"

His smile faltered at her question. Would he really have to explain how he almost killed her because he wasn't paying good enough attention to the road. Guilt settled in his stomach as he looked down at her, trying to figure out how to explain it to her.

"Never mind. I remember." She slowly lifted her arm and ran it down from his elbow. Their fingers laced together. "And you can wipe that guilt look off your face. This wasn't your fault."

He nodded, entirely too relieved to argue with her. She's okay. Thank God. He leaned down to quickly kiss her. "I love you so much."

When he pulled away Spencer replied, "I love you too."

"What are you talking about?! Caleb and I are discreet!" Hanna said in a voice full of mock outrage as soon as she saw that the serious conversation was dying down.

Spencer snorted and Toby gave her an incredulous stare. Even Caleb laughed a bit.

Hanna opened her mouth to give them some kind of retort, but before she managed to speak the door swung open and the Hastings walked inside. Toby noted in sadness how Spencer automatically stiffened and pulled herself up straighter. When she winced he touched her arm to get her attention. "Are you okay?"

Her reassuring smile flashed in his direction before she turned back to her parents. "Hi."

Mrs. Hastings sat on the edge of Spencer's bed and pulled out her phone. She was, no doubt, texting some client or other lawyer. The woman was the definition of a workaholic. Mr. Hastings stayed in the doorway and looking around the room with an accusatory glare. "What happened?"

His tone sent Toby's blood boiling, but he looked down and refrained from giving a snappy reply. The Hastings already disliked him; no need to make it worse.

"Toby and I were in a car accident," Spencer replied. She gave the least amount of details as possible while still answering her dad's question.

Mr. Hastings trained his eyes on Toby, and Toby stared back unflinching. In all honesty, Mr. Hastings scared the hell out of him. He wasn't going to show that though.

"Who was driving?"

Spencer glanced warily at Toby. She didn't take her eyes off of him as she answered her dad. Her fingers clung tightly to his hand, that being the only sign of distress she showed. "Toby."

His reaction was swift. Mr. Hastings turned around and punched the hospital wall, leaving behind a decent sized hole.

Toby sighed, knowing that nothing good was going to come of this. But Spencer was his first priority. Because their hands were clasped together he could feel her shaking. His other hand found his way to her neck, and he turned her head to face him. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but he could see in her eyes that she wasn't. Before he could question her further he was roughly pulled away from her. It was in that moment he fully began to feel his own injuries. They weren't as bad as Spencer's, but he was sore to the point that Mr. Hastings' sudden movement caused him a considerable amount of pain.

"Dad!" Spencer's angry and worried voice made it obvious that she noticed. She wasn't the only one. Almost as soon as Mr. Hastings had touched him Caleb lightly put his hand on his shoulder. "Listen, why don't we calm down and take this outs-"

Before Caleb was able to finish his sentence Mr. Hastings turned around and punched him hard across the face. Hanna immediately got up and walked to him. Toby could hear her murmuring words to him, but he didn't feel comfortable taking his eyes off of Mr. Hastings after that display of violence.

"Dad! Oh my God, stop!"

Every fiber of his being was calling out for him to go and comfort Spencer, but he knew that he had to keep his eyes on her father. Toby took a step back as Mr. Hastings took one forward, but they both froze as Mrs. Hastings got between them.

"Go. Let me handle this." She said firmly, lightly pushing her husband toward the door.

Mr. Hastings looked as though he didn't want to go, but he eventually complied with what his wife requested. As soon as he walked out the door she turned to Toby. "You need to go."

His forehead wrinkled in confusion, but before he asked what was going on Spencer spoke for him. "No! No, he's not going anywhere."

Mrs. Hastings sighed as though she was chastising Spencer for being difficult. "You aren't to see this boy anymore, Spencer."

His heart sank, and he turned to Spencer in horror. This day was quickly going from the best day ever to the worst.

Spencer tried to sit up in her bed. He couldn't let her do that. No matter how upset he was he wasn't going to let her hurt herself. He put his hands on both of her shoulders and gently pressed her back down onto her bed. "Don't hurt yourself, Spence."

He tried to move away from her, but she grabbed a hold of his hand and wouldn't let go. The grip she had on his hand was almost painful, but he didn't care. He couldn't let this happen to them. "Please don't make me go, Mrs. Hastings."

"Mom, no. Seriously no. You can't do this." Spencer literally begged her mom. He knew that she disliked seeming weak, so it must have been difficult for her.

Mrs. Hastings turned on her heel and walked to the doorway. Before leaving she turned back around to address Spencer a final time. "It's already been done, Spencer. Not only did this boy openly defy your father, but he also nearly killed you today. It's done. I'm going to go get coffee with your father. We'll be back in fifteen minutes. If he's not gone by then we will call security."

"Mom! Mom! MOM!" Spencer yelled after her mother, trying to get here to come back. When she didn't return she slumped down in her bed and stared blankly at the door. He knew that he should be comforting her, but he didn't know how.

Hanna stood up from her spot on the floor. "What a bitch. You guys talk. I'll go spy and call you when they're on their way back up."

Toby nodded gratefully. "Thanks Hanna."

She gave him a sad smile as she hurried out the door. Caleb hesitated before following immediately after her.

Now that they were alone Toby was able to focus fully on Spencer. He sat down on the edge of her bed and touched her face until her eyes focused on his. "I love you so much."

She just looked up at him for a moment before wrapping her good arm tightly around him and pressing their bodies together. "Don't let me go."

His head rested against the top of hers and he breathed in deeply. Her smell was so distinctive that he felt sure that he could find her in a dark, crowded room. It felt as though his world was ending. How was he supposed to go on without Spencer? "Never."

Her head nodded against his chest. "What are we going to do?"

He considered what to say before responding to her. It was very infrequently that she allowed him to see her so upset. He sure as hell didn't plan on doing anything to make it worse. He also had no intention of leaving Spencer as long as she wanted him around. "We'll figure it out Spencer. I promise. But what you need to do is calm down and focus on getting better."

"Just promise me you won't leave me," she whispered into his neck. She sat up further and Clung to the back of his shirt to maintain her balance.

He adjusted slightly so that he was supporting her weight. Silly girl, did she think that he would let her fall? "I'm not going anywhere. Security will have to drag me out of here. I love you so much Spencer." He breathed into her hair and closed his eyes. He had to stay strong for Spencer, but he was dying on this inside. Why couldn't her parents see how much they needed each other?

"Love you too," she whispered.

Before he was able to respond again the door swung open and his blood ran cold.


	5. Chapter 5

Guys! You're so wonderful! You're so so so so wonderful. I'm so happy this story is getting a good reaction. Please please if you're reading this review! It's the only way that I know you like it!

This chapter is from Hanna's point of view, which is kind of exciting. Let me know what you think, because I'm nervous. It's shorter because I just wanted to show what was going on with Caleb and Hanna at the end of chapter 3! Enjoy!

Also, I'm going back home, so it's another eight hours in a car with my smelly brothers! Please leave me lots of love to read when I get back to school! I'm posting tonight cause I don't know when we're leaving tomorrow.

Chapter 3

HPOV

Hanna Marin was not the kind of girl to stand down from a fight. She had told Toby that she was going to go spy, but that was totally not her plan. She took a pony tail off of her wrist and pulled her long blonde hair into a bun. How else would someone wear their hair when going on a mission?

"What's going on, Hanna?"

She felt butterflies in her stomach, and she temporarily forgot her task. How did she ever get so lucky to find someone like Caleb? Someone who looked past her flaws an and insecurities and loved her anyway.

She reached for his hand before responding to his question. "We're going to go talk some sense into Mrs. Hastings."

"Hanna," he whined and pulled her to a stop. "Maybe we should just stay out of it."

A surge of annoyance made its way through her before she turned to look at him. Any ill feelings melted away as she glanced at his bruised face. She lifted her hand and lightly brushed it over the bruises on his jawline. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "I'm fine. Mr. Hastings didn't hit me that hard. I just wasn't expecting it."

"Okay, and to answer your question, if you mess with my best friend you're dead freaking meat. And that includes her parents."

Without waiting for an answer from Caleb she turned and walked into the cafeteria. She knew he would follow her, she just didn't want to waste time discussing whether or not it was a good idea.

She paused in the cafeteria doorway and sought out Mrs. Hastings. When she saw her she quickly walked to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Mrs. Hastings, can we talk to you for a sec?"

Mrs. Hastings watched Hanna with a speculative frown. Her eyes traveled to Caleb when he stopped behind her. "I suppose so Hanna."

Hanna nodded and lead the way to another table, far enough away so that Mr. Hastings could not hear them. She took a moment to study Mrs. Hastings. Hanna had never particularly liked the woman. She actually had no problem opening up a can of whoop ass on her. But for Spencer's sake she would try to be calm.

A terse sigh escaped her lips before she began to speak. "I would try to say this nicer, but I can't really think of how to word it. If you separate Spencer and Toby you'd be making a terrible mistake."

Mrs. Hastings placed her coffee on top of the table and gave Hanna her lawyer eyes. "I disagree. I think he's dangerous?"

Hanna let out a long, somewhat embarrassing, snort. "Toby? Are you kidding? He's like a saint. Toby literally wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Is that so? Then how do you explain his burning down his family garage and rendering his sister blind?" Mrs. Hastings smirked and downed a long sip of her coffee.

How had she never noticed what a condescending bitch Mrs. Hastings was? She never liked her based on how she treated Spencer. Her taste in shoes also left a lot to be desired. But now she was starting to realize that Mrs. Hastings just wasn't a very nice person in general.

Furthermore, she had no idea how to respond to Mrs. Hastings' accusation. Not only did Toby do nothing wrong, but his actions for Jenna and Spencer were downright heroic.

Caleb spoke up before she had figured out an appropriate way to respond. "Mrs. Hastings, I know you don't know me. But I'm Toby's cousin. I've known him my whole life. He's had it rough. Nothing has come easy for him. But the changes I've seen in him since he met Spencer have been ridiculous. He's the best guy I know, and he'd never do anything to hurt your daughter."

Hanna found his defense of his cousin to be strangely attractive. She shook her head slightly. This wasn't the time. "You know your daughter is as good as my sister Mrs. Hastings. I would do anything for Spencer, including coming and talking to her mom. Spencer was there for me during the hardest time in my life. Whenever I was at my lowest she would snap me out of it and remind me of who I am."

She bit her lip and took a moment to collect her emotions before continuing. "I have never seen her as happy as she has been with Toby. They love each other so much that it's a little disgusting. Don't split them up, Mrs. Hastings. The accident wasn't his fault. When we got here he looked like he was going to puke at the thought of Spencer being hurt. He would do anything for her. Even stand up to Mr. Hastings."

For the first time that Hanna had ever see, Mrs. Hastings looked completely speechless. "Lets go talk to them."

They walked together to Spencer's room, and when they arrived Hanna walked in gingerly behind Mrs. Hastings. In her hurry to confront Mrs. Hastings she forgot that she was supposed to have called them to give them warning. Whoops. Hopefully the kids weren't caught doing something that would make this whole conversation awkward.

An unintentional laugh escaped her lips as she saw the two of them clinging to each other on Spencer's bed. Why did they have to be so adorable? Hanna nudged Caleb and when she saw that he was looking at her she made a dramatic gagging motion. "Looks like we interrupted intense cuddle time. Hand check, kids!"

Caleb snorted in laughter and Mrs. Hastings shot her an unimpressed look. "Spencer, Toby, we need to talk."

The hope in Spencer's eyes was hard to miss. "What about, mom?"

Toby tried to move, but Spencer's ironclad grip tightened around him. He gently pried her fingers off and lowered her slowly down onto the bed. His lips quickly kissed her forehead before moving to the edge of the bed and grabbing her hand. They are too adorable for life. Something like a cross between a baby puppy and an elephant playing in water.

Mrs. Hastings sighed. "Hanna and Caleb helped me to realize that I may have spoken too early."

A smile joined Spencer's hopeful eyes. "Are you saying that we can still be together?"

"Yes. On a probationary basis. Do not make me regret this. Either of you."

Before anyone could speak another words Mrs. Hastings turned and walked out of the room. Spencer's eyes were immediately on Hanna, and Hanna couldn't help but grin in response. "What did you do?!"

Hanna walked quickly across the room and hugged her best friend. "Well I lied to you. I'm totally not dressed for a spying mission. But I just talked to her, really. No one messes with my bestie. Not even her crazy mom."

As she pulled away she remembered something. "Oh! We brought donuts! They were for Toby, but you woke up way faster than we expected. You just have to be the best at everything! Even regaining consciousness."

Spencer shrugged with a smile, "Guilty."

Hanna laughed and opened the donuts. The boys took their own and she handed Spencer the biggest one. The closest to dying gets the best donut. If that wasn't already a rule it really should be.

"Aren't you going to eat one Hanna?"

A cute, little naive Toby. "No!"

Hanna laughed as Spencer spoke with her. Best friend status right there. "Krispy Kreme donuts are too sweet. They make my eyeballs hurt."

They all laughed together. They didn't realize that things were about to get a lot worse.


	6. Chapter 6

Here's a slightly fluffier chapter for you lovelies. We're back to Spencer's point of view. I hope you like it :)

LOVE YOU.

Read, Review, enjoy!

Chapter 4

SPOV

Hospitals suck. Her thoughts were usually a bit more eloquent than that, but really that was about all she could manage right now. After two days of torture the doctor had said that she could leave as long as it was understood that she would still be in a moderate amount of pain from her injuries. That was a deal she had to take.

"Are you okay?"

Even now his voice sent shivers through her entire body. She paused, trying to figure out how to answer his question honestly. She was in a lot of pain, but it may have only been because she was moving around so much. Hanna's driving left a lot to be desired. "Not really."

He gently pulled her closer to him. His strong arms held her closely so that she barely moved at all with the motion of the car. He always knew just what she needed. Spencer sighed gratefully and rested her head against his firm side. One of Toby's hands reached for her hand, and the other one began to run his fingers through her long hair. "Better?"

She smiled softly and burrowed her face into his chest. Instead of responding she simply nodded her head against him. Her eyes began to feel heavy and slowly close on their own accord.

"Spencer?"

She blinked her eyes a few times. Her head turned to the side to look up at him. The blue eyes that stared back down at her caused a smile to stretch across her lips.

When he saw that she was awake he brushed his lips across her smiling ones. "We're here. Do you want me to carry you, or do you want to try and walk yourself?"

"I want to walk," she said immediately. It was time for her to be more independent. Toby couldn't always be around, and her parents were never home. That's why they reluctantly gave her permission to stay at the loft for a few days. They knew that she would need some extra help for a few days.

The look on Toby's face made it obvious that he would have preferred to have carried her, but he didn't argue. For that she was grateful. He put one arm around her waist, grabbed her good hand, and carefully hauled her up out of the car.

Before she even had a chance to protest, he wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. It was good that he did because she almost immediately swayed into him. "I'm still a little wobbly," she muttered in an annoyed voice.

Toby took a few steps forward, supporting almost all of her weight. "You're doing great, Spence. You have a concussion, you're allowed to be a little unsteady."

She nodded again, doing the best she was able to do. Knowing that she was doing fine, all things considered. As they reached the door she noticed Hanna holding it open for them with an encouraging smile.

Toby immediately led her to the couch. He helped her to slowly and carefully curl up on the end. As soon as she was settled he ran off to his room for some reason. Hanna came up to her in his absence and sat on the arm of the couch. "You okay, Spencer?"

Spencer nodded as she kicked her shoes off. "I'm doing pretty alright. Mostly my arm hurts a lot, and I feel really dizzy."

Hanna smiled and stood up. "I'll go get you some soup. I have a feeling that even I'm a better cook than these boys, and Lord knows you don't want to eat my cooking."

She didn't wait for a thank you from Spencer before getting Caleb and leaving. As Hanna and Caleb walked out the door Toby returned. Or at least she assumed that it was Toby. She couldn't see his face due to the stacks of pillows and blankets piled up in his arms.

A long laugh escaped her previously pursed lips. "What are you doing?"

He dropped the blankets down on top of her, causing her to laugh again. "If I'm in charge of nursing you back to health I'm going to do it right."

No one had ever put her first before and it was making her brain turn to mush. How anyone ever had a coherent thought around him was not something that she understood. "Oh, and how are you going to do that?" She asked him in a teasing, tired tone.

Instead of answering her he reached down and pulled two pairs of his socks onto her feet. They were much too big, but they were definitely the most comfortable things that she had ever felt. And they were so warm.

Next he piled three comforters on top of her. He moved to tuck them in around her, but she shook her head. "Come rest with me, Toby. You have to be exhausted. I'm pretty sure that you slept maybe two hours over the past couple days."

She wasn't even exaggerating. Her mind thought back to how wonderful Toby had been while she was in the hospital. The chair next to her bed was never empty. He sat with her and whispered loving, encouraging words to her the entire time. He never left her side, and she would never be able to thank him enough for that.

"Are you sure Spence? What if you wake up and you're hurting?"

Emotions caused her throat to constrict. She really did love him. "If I need you I will let you know. I promise."

The distrust in his eyes made her smile. He would be right not to believe her under normal circumstances. "Toby, if it were you that was hurt I would want you to wake me up. I'm not going to be a hypocrite. If I need you then you'll know."

He gave her a short nod. "And no trying to play the hero? I want to hear if anything gets worse, okay?"

A cold whoosh of air touched her feverish skin as he climbed underneath the blankets with her. Two strong arms wrapped around her, and pulled her body to his. It's unbelievable how much comfort that added. When she's wrapped up in Toby's she knew that she was safe, that no one could hurt her.

"This okay?" His soft voice murmured into her neck, both tickling it and warming her at the same time. She nodded and closed her eyes. As strong as she was trying to be, she really did feel terrible.

Before she fully fell asleep she had a thought. "Are you too warm?" She was definitely comfortable, but he might not be.

The vibrations from his laughter comforted her, because it reminded her that he was right there with her. "Don't worry about me. I'm perfect right where I am."

The last thing that Spencer remembered before she fell asleep was the feeling of a kiss being pressed to her temple.

* * *

"We have to tell her."

Certain indistinguishable voices could be heard in the back of her mind, but she wasn't quite awake yet. Fingers made their way through her hair in a repetitive motion. For the first time since they got that text from A she felt safe and warm.

"We will. But she finally looks peaceful. I don't want to ruin that."

"She would want to know, Toby."

She felt arms constrict protectively around her body. A soft moan escaped her lips, and she stretched a little bit. She hissed between her clenched teeth as she moved her bruised torso. That wasn't a good idea.

"Spencer?" Toby's soft voice asked from by her ear.

His voice could make her smile on the worst day of her life. "I'm okay," she muttered, because she was sure that was what he was really worried about. "What's going on?"

Toby sat up a little straighter, and he pulled her gently up with him. He touched her like she was made of glass. It was mildly insulting, but more adorable than anything.

He pressed his lips to her hair. Apparently Toby was on comforting duty. Great. This wasn't going to be good news. Hanna and Caleb exchanged a glance, and they seemed to have an entire conversation with their eyes.

Eventually Caleb began to speak. "While we were out Hanna and I got another text from A."

She sat up a bit straighter, fighting off an unwelcome dose of fear. Apparently totalling her car and putting her into the hospital wasn't good enough for this bitch. "What did it say?"

"Apparently she was trying to be poetic. It just said 'I see you when you're sleeping, I know when you're awake. I've got a great plan in the works. Get excited! I know I am! Kisses -A.' But it also had a couple pictures attached."

By the look on Caleb's face she knew that this was the part that really had him worried. "Of...?" She asked in a leading manner.

Toby's arms tightened marginally around her waist as Caleb began to answer. Apparently Toby didn't really like this part either.

"There was one of your bed. Hanna said it was definitely taken from your room. There was also one of you and Toby on the couch. The picture could have only been taken from in front of the TV. And then one of Han and I in the grocery store."

She froze. It was like nothing else was going on around her. This had to be the most unnerving thing she had ever experienced. "Someone... was in... here? While we were- were sleeping? And in my room?"

Toby pulled her closer and began to murmur comforting words in her ear. She knew that her tone was unnerving him, but she couldn't calm down. Her shaking hands found one of Toby's and she laced their fingers together. "Help me up?"

"What do you need?" He asked in concern, gently pulling her to a standing position and wrapping his arm around her waist to steady her.

"N-nothing. I just don't want to sit anymore." She said softly, still internally freaking out. This isn't something Toby needs to know right now, because he was already worried enough about her. She worked to control her facial expression and leaned into his side.

"Wha-"

His words were cut off by an explosion of glass through the living room window. Toby wrapped an arm around her waist and pushed her to the wall, covering her body with his. Gas was quickly filling the room. As she breathed it in she felt herself getting more and more light headed.

"Toby..."

"I know Spence. Just-"

Toby's words were cut off as, for the second time this week, her world went black and she passed out.


	7. Chapter 7

Boom! Chapter 6! I hope that you love this! This drama is getting pretty intense starting now. None of this frenemy stuff with my A. The crazy person means business! Please review and let me know what you think, okay? Love love love you! Another one from Spencer's point of view!

And this chapter is for Julieta. I couldn't respond to your review since you don't have an account, but I absolutely LOVED your review!

Okay, here's the deal. My new semester starts on Monday. I have a ton of work to catch up on, so unfortunately the daily updates will have to stop. I'm going to shoot for Tuesday and Friday updates, and if anything changes I will let you know.

Apologies for the cliffy. I will see you guys on Tuesday at the latest! And it should go fast because I'm sure we're all SO EXCITED BECAUSE IT'S PLL DAY!

Read, Review, and Enjoy.

Chapter 6

SPOV

Spencer shivered as she felt a cool breeze blow over her body. She slowly blinked her eyes open. What was going on? Why was she on the floor?

Her body groaned in protest as she slowly rolled over, and when she saw Toby collapsed on the floor next to her everything came rushing back.

Toby. If he wasn't okay she had no idea what she would do. She put her hand on his arm, but immediately yanked it back when she felt how cold he was. "Toby?"

When he didn't respond she bit down hard on her lip to stop panic from overwhelming her. She put her hands on either side of his face and leaned in closer. "Toby, please wake up."

At her touch he moaned and blinked his eyes open. He sat up with a start and turned to face her. "Are you okay?" He asked her while grabbing her good hand and rubbing out a gentle circle.

Spencer nodded. "I'm fine."

He glanced her over, and when he seemed satisfied he pulled her to her feet. His eyes scanned the room. "What happened?"

A metal canister laid in a pile of glass underneath the window. She let go of Toby and hobbled over to it. "I think this must have been filled with some kind of gas. Obviously this was A, but why?"

"I think I know."

Spencer turned around and her stomach immediately clenched in worry when she saw Caleb's panicked face. "What's wrong?"

"I can't find Hanna. But there was an envelope on the chair she was sitting in." He handed the envelope to Toby, and sat heavily on the closest recliner. "I can't open it. What if it has her toe in it or something?"

Spencer knew that it was illogical, but what if it did? A had run her and Toby off the road. Cutting off Hanna's toe certainly wasn't past the psychopath. She moved away from the glass and sat on the ground, leaning against the couch.

Toby's face was considerably more pale than usual, but he made no indication of protesting that the task of opening the letter fell to him. He slid out the paper, and his eyes quickly scanned the words. "It's a riddle."

Caleb sat up a little straighter and looked at Toby hopefully. "Is she okay? Does it say anything about Hanna?"

He handed Caleb the letter before coming to sit on the ground next to Spencer. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her to him. "Are you feeling okay?"

No, she really wasn't. Her head was throbbing and her arm was on fire. She only felt half present. The doctor had told her that she could be released if she rested, and this was basically the opposite of resting. But she absolutely wasn't going to tell that to Toby. They needed to focus on Hanna.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." The look in his eyes told Spencer that he knew that she was lying, but she couldn't worry about that right now. "Can I see the note, Caleb?"

He nodded and passed her letter. Her eyes quickly took in the hastily scribbled words.

_Some are below and some are above._

_Some visit and are filled with sadness and others are filled with love._

_We all end up here._

_There's no need for fear._

_Hurry up and find her or they'll think you did it._

_Kisses bitches!_

_A_

After finishing the note Spencer simply stared at it. She was pretty sure she knew where A was talking about, but she didn't want to be wrong. It was too important.

"Spencer?"

She reluctantly lifted her eyes to meet Caleb's. Her heart went out to him as she saw the desperation and panic practically radiating off of him.

"Do you have any idea where Hanna is?"

She nodded once and paused before continuing. "Um. It's only a guess."

Caleb got up and walked over to sit next to her on the couch. "Spencer please. It's better than anything I could think of. Even if I was thinking clearly, you're so much smarter than I am."

If it had been any other situation Spencer would have taken a minute to reassure Caleb of his intelligence, but they didn't have any time to spare. "Okay. If I had to guess I would say that she might be at the cemetery. The riddle seems to lead to it. But more than that, the handwriting looks nearly identical to Ali's. There's no way that was a coincidence. I think that maybe A left Hanna at Alison's grave."

Both of the guys looked at her in shock for a moment before leaping into action. Toby leaned over to help her up. "I don't suppose that there's any way that I can convince you to stay here?"

Spencer snorted and shook her head. "Not a chance."

He nodded and grabbed her around the waist. "Yeah, I kind of figured. God forbid you do anything the easy way."

She laughed a bit at his frustrated tone. "You know you love me."

Always the gentleman, Toby wrapped his arm around her waist to help her hurry after Caleb. Spencer knew that she should probably be staying behind, but she was too worried about Hanna to focus on herself right now. Furthermore, there was no way she was going to let Caleb and Toby go get her alone. They might need her for some reason.

Toby helped Spencer into the front seat before climbing into the back. As soon as all three of them were inside Caleb peeled off toward the cemetery. They arrived much more quickly than they should have. Luckily they didn't run in to any cops. She could just imagine trying to explain this scenario to them. Sorry officer, but my best friend has been kidnapped by an anonymous source posing as our dead former friend turned mortal enemy. Yeah, that would go over really well.

As they arrived Caleb got out and ran in the direction of Alison's grave. "Try to hurry, guys."

Caleb ran our of sight, but Toby remained behind to help her. This wasn't good. She could handle this, but Hanna might need help right away. "Toby, go help Caleb. I can make it on my own."

Even she could hear how weak her own voice was sounding, but she hoped that Toby would go anyway.

Toby ignored her and helped her walk in the correct direction. "I know you don't feel well, Spencer. You aren't being as stealthy as you think you are. You need me just as much as they do."

She nodded against his side. All this movement wasn't good. She was starting to feel light headed, and everything was in a haze. Before she realized what was happening her legs were swept out from under her and she was held tightly to Toby's chest. Oh look, the caveman came out to play again. The sexy, sexy caveman. "I can walk."

The vibrations from his chuckle sent a shot of warmth through her. "This is quicker, Spencer. Just let me help you, okay?"

As much as she wanted to protest, she knew that he was right. "Okay." And honestly, it felt good to not have to pretend to be strong. Even if it was only for a few minutes. With Toby arms holding her it felt conceivable that he could temporarily be strong enough for the both of them.

With Toby carrying her it only took them a moment to arrive at Alison's grave. But none of them were prepared for what they saw there.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, I've had several requests for more Haleb, so this chapter is from Caleb's point of view. I have never written anything from his, so please let me know what you think!

This chapter is SO for hopeforspoby! I KNOW I've dedicated a chapter to you before, but your review on the last chapter totally and completely made my day! You are wonderful, my dear. Thank you so much!

Actually, her amazing review is basically the only thing that's making this chapter get posted tonight. Because the reviews for the last chapter were very disappointing. The next chapter won't be posted until this chapter gets at least five reviews.

Chapter 7

CPOV

As soon as he pulled into the cemetery he jumped out of the car and scarcely gave a thought to Spencer and Toby.

_Hanna_. He had to get to Hanna.

God knows what he would do without her. Before he met Hanna he always felt like he was alone, even when he was in a room full of people. But Hanna changed all of that. He would find her, and he would do whatever he needed to do in order to help her.

As he approached Alison DiLaurentis' grave he began to scan the ground for any sign of his missing girlfriend. His heart nearly stopped as his eyes were met by a mess of blonde curls a few feet ahead of him.

"Hanna!"

He dropped to his feet in front of her and gently rolled her over to face him. Her body was freezing, but he wasn't sure whether it was because she was injured or because it was cold outside. "God. Hanna, please. You have to wake up. Please."

The panic was nearly overwhelming. Why wasn't she waking up? "Hanna!"

He froze as he heard a small moan coming from her. If nothing else, at least she was with him. He would die before he let anyone else touch her. His hand gently caressed her cheek with a concerned frown. "Please wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open, and his heart twisted in relief. Thank God. Before he could speak to her he heard something crack in front of them and his eyes whipped up. They were met by a figure in the shadows. All he could tell for sure was that the figure was wearing a black hoodie.

"Who are you? Are you the one who did this to her?" He snapped. He looked down at Hanna and then back up at the figure. Should he go after that person or should he stay to take care of Hanna? His eyes traveled down to Alison's grave and he was filled with a new dose of fear. Instead of a filled grave all he could see was an empty hole.

"Caleb?"

_Spencer._ He couldn't bring himself to look away from the grave, but he knew that Toby was with her. His eyes lifted back to where he saw the figure and looked around nervously when he saw that they were gone. The ground shuffled next to him and he jumped as he felt a soft hand on his arm.

"Caleb, what's going on? Did you see anything?"

He glanced over at Spencer before flickering his eyes back down to Hanna. Her eyes were shut, but she had opened them. He didn't want to leave her, but he had to go see if he could catch the person that was looking at them. "Stay here with Hanna, okay? Try to wake her up."

Spencer looked, for lack of a better word, like shit. Her skin was pale and her eyes slightly unfocused. Not only did he need someone to try to wake Hanna up, but he knew that she couldn't handle a run through the woods.

Her questioning words were drowned out as he stood up and sprinted off in the direction that he had last seen the black hoodied person. Could this be A? Before he got too far ahead he heard footsteps behind him.

"Caleb, wait! Stop!"

His feet skidded to a halt so that Toby could catch up. "I saw someone in a black hoodie staring at us."

The look on Toby's face was a little terrifying. He had never seen his gentle cousin so angry. "We need to end this right now. What direction did the-"

Toby's words were cut off by a piercing scream from the direction in which they had just came. He wasn't sure whether it was Spencer or Hanna, but he wasn't going to wait around to find out.

In no time at all they returned to find the girls huddled together and a large shovel tossed carelessly next to Spencer. At that moment all Caleb could focus on was the fact that Hanna was okay. She was upright and conscious, and that was honestly all he cared about at the moment.

Caleb ran to the girls and gently pulled Hanna to him. He didn't dare squeeze her any harder until he knew whether or not she was hurt. But for right now he was content to do nothing but hold her in his arms. He didn't care if he ever let go. The cool night air was heavy around them as Caleb contemplated how to best question the girls on what had just happened.

Before he questioned her he needed to know that she was okay. "Hanna. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital or anything?"

Her arms were slow to move, but as he spoke they slowly wound their way around him. He felt as she shook her head against his shoulder. The tension and fear were practically radiating off of her. That wasn't okay. His arms tightened marginally in the hope that it would make her feel safe.

A deep, shuddering breath passed through Hanna's body as she began to explain. "I have no idea what happened to get me here. The last thing I remember was sitting in the loft explaining to Spencer the text we got from A."

When he found the person who was tormenting them he really might kill them. He didn't care what happened to him, but Hanna didn't deserve to live like this. "What happened just now to make you guys scream?"

Another shudder passed through Hanna's body. A overwhelming feeling of gratitude for her inability to hide her emotions shot through him. Fear wasn't something he wanted her to feel, but at least he knew how to comfort her.

"Someone in a black hoodie tried to hit us with that shovel." She gestured to the shovel next to Spencer and Toby without looking at it. "Spencer grabbed it and screamed. We knew that neither of us were in any shape to fight someone off, but that you two couldn't have been too far off."

Thank God they had enough sense to yell for help when it was needed. Typically they fed off of each other's stubbornness.

"I don't think they were trying to hit us," said Spencer's soft voice from behind them.

Caleb turned to look at her with a furrowed brow. "What do you mean, Spencer?"

She carefully reached for the shovel and looked at it thoughtfully. Toby stood behind her, watching her in justifiable concern considering she was just seriously injured in a car accident. It was fairly obvious that Spencer needed rest.

"I think they wanted one of us to touch it. If I'm being completely honest, I probably couldn't fight off a baby squirrel right now. And I'm sure I look about as good as I feel. Hanna was still only half conscious. If this person wanted to hurt us they could have."

Toby took the small step that he needed to to get to Spencer and wrapped his arm around her. "What are you saying, Spence?"

She bit her lip and glanced from the shovel to the empty grave. "I think this is a set up. We need to get out of here."

At her words an immense feeling of dread bubbled up in Caleb's stomach. Until she spoke those words that thought hadn't even crossed his mind, but now he feared that she was right. They had to get out of here. Toby had already started walking with Spencer back to the car. "Han, can you walk or do you need me to carry you?"

"I think I'm okay. Just help me up?"

He quickly rose to his feet and pulled Hanna up with both hands. She swayed, but quickly regained her balance.

The rest of the cemetery was scarcely noticed as he pulled Hanna along to the car. The doors were already opened, so he helped Hanna into the passenger seat before hopping into the driver's side and starting the engine. A quick check in the rear view mirror showed him that Spencer and Toby were cuddled together in the back. Without waiting for another word Caleb peeled out of the parking lot and directed the car in the direction of the loft.

"I don't think we should go back to the loft tonight."

His foot pressed down on the brakes, but he didn't come to a complete stop. Hanna beat him to asking Spencer for clarification. "Have you lost your mind, Spence? Of course we should go back to the loft."

Caleb nodded and added to Hanna's statement. "I don't think we should separate after this, and that's the only place that we can all be together."

Spencer sighed and started digging through her purse. Usually she was fairly mild tempered, so she must have been more agitated than she was leading them to believe to show visible annoyance. "No, we need to get out of town for a couple days. Maybe we should go to Philly and stay in a hotel."

He didn't want to admit it, but it had to be said. "I can't really afford that right now."

Noises of agreement came from Toby and Hanna as well. Spencer just rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to let you guys pay anyway. I have my dad's credit card. As long as we spend less than $2,000 he won't even notice."

Caleb couldn't stifle the snort that escaped him. How nice it must be to have that kind of money. He was a foster child during his younger years until he was adopted by his mom when he 12. He had never had that kind of money, and he probably never would.

"I'm alright with using Papa Hastings' money. Do you think your magic little card can help us buy dinner too?"

Spencer laughed at Hanna's question and nodded. "But Caleb, can you stop at the ATM? I don't trust this A person. They could track us. Let's pay with cash."

"What the hell, Spencer? Are you like a secret spy?" Toby asked her in an incredulous voice.

Hanna snorted and glanced back at the two of them, "I think we need to just start calling her 00-Spencer. Double O Spence!"

Spencer rolled her eyes and ignored all of them. "My bank is up here on the right."

He nodded and turned the blinker on as he pulled into the shopping center where Spencer's bank was. As Spencer handed him her card he slid it into the machine.

"Okay, my pin number is 5045 and take out $2000 in two separate transactions."

He nodded and quickly took out the money. As he pulled back out onto the highway. "Where to?"

"There's the Holiday Inn about halfway between here and Philly. Let's just go there?" Spencer made the statement like it was a question, but obviously no one was going to argue with the one footing the bill. Having a rich friend is always nice.

Caleb was still feeling really tense, and all he wanted to do was to was hold Hanna so that they could both try to forgot everything that had happened in the past few days. The ride to the hotel was largely silent; everyone was fairly worn out. When they arrived Toby offered to go inside any pay. Spencer gave him a reluctant frown, but she didn't argue with him.

After a few minutes he came back out to the car and they walked into the hotel room together. He didn't even hesitate. As soon as they were in the room he grabbed Hanna around the waist and pulled her to the bed furthest away from the bathroom. "Hanna, are you okay?"

She gave him a teasing smile and leaned her head against his shoulder. Fear was still present in his heart, but her contact warmed him to the core. She was okay. She was really okay.

"Caleb, you're going to get wrinkles if you keep worrying so much. I'm totally fine." She leaned up to kiss his cheek and reached for his hand.

He didn't want to worry about Hanna anymore, but he just couldn't help it. Someone kidnapped her. They could have done anything to her, and he wasn't there to help her. He leaned into her and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You know how much I love you, right?"

She giggled and nodded. "Probably about as much as I love you."

The seriousness of the situation was shown by the fact that Hanna didn't make a joke of his sappiness. "Just... please don't ever leave me, okay? I can't live without you anymore."

"Not going anywhere Caleb. I promise. I love you."

He held her tightly to him, not ever wanting to let go. He couldn't hold her forever, but they always had tonight.


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, so last chapter had some Haleb fluff. This chapter is pure Spoby fluff and friendship between all four of them. I hope you guys love it! The next chapter will be posted after we get to 45 reviews for the story. So REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, because you aren't going to like where this chapter ends :). We're getting closer to the prologue. It's literally about to get crazy up in here.

Also, dear negative Guest reviewer. I have to publicly call you out because I can't respond to your review. There WILL be Haleb in this story. But there will be a LOT more Spoby, considering that this is going to be primarily from Spencer's point of view. A nice, positive review may have made me want to add more Haleb. But calling my story boring and not fun is probably not the best way to get what you want. Future reference :). Dear Haleb shippers, don't worry. The next chapter is from Caleb's point of view. I won't make you all sad for one mean person.

This is one of my favorite chapters of this story. I love the friendship between these four.

You can thank this early chapter on the fact that the Midwest is currently covered in snow. My state is basically shut down. Nothing to do other than write!

ALSO, if I don't talk to you guys HAPPY PLL DAY TOMORROW!

Chapter 8

SPOV

"Are you doing okay?"

A surge of annoyance shot through her, but she pushed it down immediately. Toby was just worried about her and it was totally justified. Instead of snapping at him she laughed and threw a pillow at his face. It was a totally appropriate reaction.

He chuckled and caught the pillow before turning back to her. "So should I take that as a yes?"

"I think if you baby me anymore I might die." Her tone was teasing, but she hoped that he realized that she was serious. She was doing better now that they weren't running around.

He looked at her for a moment before putting the pillow underneath her head. "If you say so, but promise me you will let me know if it gets any worse."

She nodded and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward her. A smile stretched across his serious face and he laid down next to her on the bed. "So what should we do now?"

"I have a few ideas." A hand brushed along his side, and she leaned up to press a soft kiss to his neck.

"Caleb, the kids are being gross again!"

At Hanna's voice Spencer lifted her head up and pulled the pillow out from under her head. Without turning around she flung it Hanna's direction. "Watch it, Han. I've got a lot of dirt on you that I'm sure that Caleb would be interested in hearing."

Hanna gasped dramatically and gave Spencer a look of mock outrage. "You wouldn't dare. You better zip up those chatty lips!"

A noise of protest was heard from next to Hanna. Caleb sat up straight with a mischievous grin. "No, hold on. Unzip the lips. I want the dirt!"

Spencer laughed and pulled herself up to a sitting position. Toby followed shortly after her and pulled her body to him. She supposed that this couldn't technically be called babying since the big sap would probably do it any time. And honestly, she didn't mind being held right now.

She racked her brain for the perfect story to share with Caleb. Something that would embarrass Hanna, but not something so bad that she would be mad at her. "Oh! I know. Did she ever tell you about the time that she ate a handful of dirt?"

"Spencer Jill Hastings, you keep your mouth shut!"

Hanna's words were serious, but her inability to hold back her laughter showed Spencer that she wasn't really upset.

Caleb's hand cut off Hanna's protests. He shot a smile in Spencer's direction. "You were saying?"

This wasn't going to end well. Hanna knew all of Spencer's embarrassing stories too. But she just couldn't resist Caleb's eager smile and the chance to embarrass her best friend. "We were about twelve, and Aria and Emily were with us. I'm not sure why Alison wasn't there, but whatever. We were playing truth or dare and Han was antagonizing Emily. Saying something about her lame dares."

Apparently Caleb had moved his hand because Hanna couldn't help but interject. "Her dares were lame! Like she dared Spencer to lick a piece of tree bark."

Toby ran his fingers through her hair, causing a shiver to pass through her entire body. "What was with you four and sticking things that weren't food into your mouths?"

What was with people interrupting her tonight? She waved her hands dismissively before continuing on with the story. "Anyway, Em was like oh no. And she gave Hanna the most disgusting dare that she could think of. She dared her to eat a handful of dirt. Han, as you all know well, isn't one to be shown up. She downed that handful of dirt in three seconds flat."

"And I only threw up twice!" Hanna proudly chimed in.

Caleb laughed and leaned to for a kiss. "You're disgusting, and I love you."

"Woah, hold on! Weren't you just making fun of us for being cute?" Spencer protested with a laugh.

Toby pulled her tighter to him, and she could feel his nod of agreement. "Stop the PDA because I need an embarassing story about Spencer!"

Well that wasn't quite what she expected. "Oh no you don't. I've lived a boring life filled with no embarrassing stories."

Hanna snorted. "You lie, Spencer! I've practically got a book of embarrassing stories in my head. Give me a category, Toby!"

A hand stroked his chin as he gave Spencer a teasing, thoughtful stare. "Let's stick with weird things to eat."

Oh no. Oh no no no. As soon as he said that she knew exactly what story Hanna would go for. "Hanna," she said in a warning tone.

Hanna was having none of Spencer's warnings. Before talking she had to take a minute to control her laughter. "Oh my God, I have the perfect story. This was right before Aria left for Europe. Wait, Iceland is in Europe, right?"

Spencer's face was buried in her hands to hide her blushing cheeks, so her replied was muffled. "Yes Han. And now you're getting a world map for your birthday."

"What? It's in the middle of the ocean. It's confusing! Anyways, Aria was all depressed because she didn't want to go. And while she was boo hoo-ing Spencer went into Team Sparia mode and was trying to cheer her up."

Her words were abruptly cut of by a fit of hysterical laughter. Spencer looked up and gave her a mock glare. She didn't care if Hanna told this story. It was actually kind of hilarious.

"What happened?! Keep going!" The excited look on Toby's face was making this all the better. She didn't typically let herself do stupid things in front of him, so this was a rare treat.

"Okay, okay. Well I wasn't there for this, but apparently Em and Spence had a sleepover the night before and were watching stupid youtube videos. One that they came across was some kids doing this thing called the cinnamon challenge."

"Spencer!" Caleb's laughing voice cut across Hanna's story, "you did not!"

Spencer just shook her head indicating that Hanna should continue. "Spoiler free zone."

"She did!" Hanna's laughter was making her story nearly unintelligible. "She grabbed a big mixing spoon, filled it up with cinnamon, and she shoved it in her mouth. The noise that she made sounded like a shrieking bobcat or something. It basically woke the dead."

Simultaneously the entire room burst into laughter. Those jerks, they shouldn't be laughing at her pain. Actually, okay they can laugh. It was pretty hysterical.

Laughter rocked its way through her body, but she kept her head down, not wanting the others to see that she actually thought it was funny. A hand touched her between her shoulder blades, totally blowing her stoic cover. As she looked up her eyes were met by Toby's crystal blue ones. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. When he pulled away he moved his lips to her ear. "I just wanted to see if I could still taste the cinnamon."

She shrieked and smacked him hard across the arm. "Don't be rude!"

"I think I'm getting kind of tired," he trailed off and wrapped both arms around her waist. He slid down the bed, pulling her along with him. His head pressed into the crook of her neck. "What about you? Ready for bed?"

His words against her neck caused her to shiver and lean into him further. Was that a real question? "Well, I certainly don't want to move."

"Me either." He murmured into her hair. She felt as his lips pressed to her forehead, but she could feel her eyes growing heavy. It had been a long day, and apparently she was more tired than she had originally thought.

The past few days she had felt the exact opposite of safe, but right now, laying here in Toby's arms, she knew that nothing would hurt her. Before drifting off to sleep her last thoughts were full of love for Toby Cavanaugh.

-A's POV

Where were they? This wasn't okay. The minions were supposed to keep track of them. She was done. Completely done. This was supposed to be constant torture. The fact that the bitches were able to escape completely defeated the purpose.

A binder full of plans was pulled onto -A's lap, and it was flipped to the end. It was time to skip ahead to the grand finale. The smaller plans could be enacted later, but those bitches needed to learn to take the threats seriously.

She put the supplies that she would need in her bag. She would find them, and when she did it would be a night that none of them would ever forget.

* * *

After a few hours of searching she managed to find them in a hotel on the way to Philly. The idiots took the precaution of paying with cash, but they didn't think through parking their car in the lot that they were actually staying in? It only took a small bribe to get a key to their room. Trust is such a hard thing to come by these days.

With her minion she watched the four of them, contemplating who to take. Who would cause the most waves? Who would cause the most panic? She grinned as she came to the correct decision, and she slid the drugs that they would need into their hand with a smile. She motioned to the correct people, and walked out the door. The minion would take care of the kidnapping. That's why she blackmailed people. So she didn't have to do the dirty work.

She watched in the rear view mirror as the chosen ones were thrown into the trunk and the lid slammed. This was going to be so great.


	10. Chapter 10

You guys literally have the best reviews. The best best best reviews. Maybe they aren't quite as numerous as I would like, but they're still wonderful.

Sorry about the confusing cliffy at the last chapter, but this one won't be much better, if I'm being honest. Maybe less vague? This chapter is shorter, and it's from Caleb's POV to satisfy all of you amazing Haleb people. I hope that you love it!

The next chapter will be caught up to the prologue, and it will be from Spencer's point of view again.

This story should either be about 5 more chapters with a sequel, or an indefinite number of chapters. Do you guys have a preference? Numerous short stories or a really long story?

So I'm not really that far ahead in my writing any more, but the next chapter should be up when we're at 50 reviews. UNLESS you get me to that in a couple hours, because I'm still perfecting the next chapter.

Chapter 8

CPOV

Caleb had always been an early riser. Some people could sleep until noon, but he had always been up with the sun. That was definitely not the case with Hanna. He was lucky if she was up before noon, which is why he felt a certain degree of confusion when he woke up and Hanna was not next to him. Where was she?

He sat up and looked over at the other bed, and his concern increased when he saw Spencer alone. Had Toby and Hanna gone off together? That wasn't likely, considering he had never seen either of them up earlier than nine. "Spencer?"

Spencer groaned and rolled over to face him, stretching out her sore body. "What's up?"

Well that was a refreshing change. If he had tried to wake Hanna up this early she would have either ignored him or beaten him with her pillow. "Do you know where Toby is? Or Hanna?"

Her forehead scrunched in confusion and she sat up straight. "No. Did they go get ice or something?"

The thought had crossed his mind, but it was really doubtful that the both of them were up so early. It was even more doubtful that they would both leave without leaving them a not, considering everything that had been happening the past few days. Maybe one, but there was no way that both of them were up before him and Spencer. "I don't know, but I don't like this. I'm going to call Hanna."

As he picked up his phone he noticed that he had a text, and he assumed that it was from Hanna. Not a lot of other people would send him text messages. He definitely didn't come across as a people person.

Caleb opened up the text without a second thought, and when he saw what it said his heart literally stopped. "Spencer..."

The alarm in his voice must have been completely evident because she shot up and sat next to him on the bed. Her face showed her internal panic, but her words were still calm. That's Spencer for you, the calm and collected voice of reason. "What's wrong?"

He slid her the phone. His head dropped into his hands and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. He thought about trying to track the text, but he was sure that A was smart enough to use a disposable phone.

_LOL. I took them right out from under your noses. Literally. Stay tuned and I'll let you know where they are. You better be ready to hurry, or they'll be blown away. Kisses, Bitches! -A_

How had this happened? His arms were literally wrapped around her. How had A gotten her? And Toby? A talked a lot like a girl. There's no way a girl would have been able to move Toby without, at least, waking Spencer up.

He looked over to see how Spencer was doing. Her eyes lifted to look at him, and he noted in sadness that her eyes were filled with tears. He had never seen Spencer look so upset, which was a tribute to the seriousness of the situation. "It'll be okay Spencer. We'll find them."

She bit her lip and looked down at the bed. After taking a moment to be full of emotion she jumped into action. "We need to go. Now. There's no way that they aren't in Rosewood. Think about it. This person is posing as Alison. They're going to want to be in Rosewood because it's significant to her."

Sometimes Caleb was in awe of her brain. That make complete and total sense, but he never would have thought of that. He nodded and began throwing his and Hanna's stuff into a bag. As he finished he glanced over to see if Spencer was done. "You good to go?"

She nodded without a word and pushed past Caleb out the door. One thing that he leaned from spending time with Spencer over the past year and a half was that when Spencer was mad she got dangerously quiet and when she was upset she didn't speak at all.

He felt for her, because he was about three seconds away from a panic attack. But at least Toby was with Hanna this time, not that he was happy that his cousin was missing. But hopefully he would be able to take care of her. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips before he was able to stifle it. Good thing that was a mental thought because Spencer and Hanna both would have kicked his ass for implying that either of them couldn't take care of themselves.

As he reached the car he saw Spencer getting into the passenger seat, which made total sense. And he was grateful, because when Spencer was on a mission she drove like a maniac. Traffic laws were only suggestions in her mind. He could only imagine how a broken arm would add to the crazy.

Spencer's text tone went off as he pulled out of the hotel parking lot. His heart constricted in terror but also in determination. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt Hanna, or Toby for that matter. They would find them.

Her face was considerably more pale than usual as she passed him her phone so that he could read the text.

_7854 River Run Road. You better hurry. You have 15 minutes before it's too late. -A_

Immediately after he finished the text Spencer's phone was ripped from his hands as she scrolled through her aps and started the timer. Her hand grabbed his phone from the cup holder in the middle of the car and set the GPS to the correct address. "Go. Hurry."

The arrival feature on the GPS said that their approximate time of arrival was in 14 minutes. No. No no no that wasn't good. He floored the gas peddle and shot through the semi-abandoned streets, praying that they wouldn't get pulled over. Apparently the people of Eastern Pennsylvania weren't early risers.

In ten minutes of driving time the screeched up to the side of the road, at the address that the GPS had taken them to. There was nothing there but dense woods and the ghost of a foundation. No one had lived here in a long time. "I don't get it?" He glanced down at Spencer, submitting to her computer brain. Hopefully she would be able to figure it out.

She reached for his phone and glanced down at the screen, scrolling in on the property. "Look, right here. There's a barn on the edge of the property. They might be in there." The phone was passed into his hands, and he saw that she was right.

Before either of them realized what they were doing they had unbuckled their seat belts and were running in a dead sprint toward the barn. He knew that he couldn't live without Hanna anymore. Toby was his favorite cousin and his best friend. They would save them. They had to save them. He could only imagine how Spencer was feeling. The love between her and Toby practically tangible, and Hanna had been her best friend since birth.

In his hurry he really hadn't noticed the debris scattered across the ground. When he was about 100 feet away from the car he tripped over something and landed hard on the ground. Pain shot up his ankle. No, this was not the time for an injury, damn it.

Spencer skidded to a stop ahead of him and turned back to look at him, her eyes torn.

"No, Spencer keep going."

She shook her head and took a few steps back. Everything seemed to slow down as he looked down at his watch and saw that there were only two minutes to go. Her hand wrapped his arm around her shoulders. This was laughable. She couldn't support his weight, and his ankle hurt to the point that he knew he wasn't going anywhere fast.

"Spencer you have to leave me. Go!"

She bit her bottom lip in concern. He knew that she didn't want to leave him, but he also knew that this was Spencer Hastings. Even if no one else in the world saw his point, Spencer would see that it was logical and listen. He didn't want her to leave him either. This could be dangerous and he wouldn't be there to help her. But there was no other choice. She had to save Toby and Hanna, and she had to do it alone.

"SPENCER! Leave now! You only have like a minute and a half."

At his reminder of the time he saw something change in her eyes. She knew that he was right. "Be careful." She said softly before sprinting off into the woods, leaving him behind.

It only took a moment before she disappeared in the trees. He felt like a sitting duck here, so he found the largest stick that was within arms reach and pulled himself up to a standing position. He may not get there fast, but he would get there eventually.

Before he was able to take even one step the woods were rocked by a massive explosion. He dropped to his knees in horror.

_No._


	11. Chapter 11

Okay guys. This is where the prologue comes in! Will Hanna and Toby be okay!? Will they!? Ahhh who knows. Oh wait, I do.

First, let me just say, stick with me. I love Haleb and Spoby a LOT LOT LOT. Like to the moon and back and then some. Just remember that, okay?

Secondly, IT'S PLL DAY! I'm watching the PLL marathon right now because I have yet another snow day. I thought we weren't supposed to get these in college, LOL. Just kidding. We've had two in a row. But like, it's the Spoby roadtrip episode and I'm literally spazzing out. I can't handle how much I love them. It's such an issue. And Haleb... but the HALEB HURTS. COME BACK TO ROSEWOOD CALEB. GAH.

Okay yeah, let's get to the story. This chapter isn't the longest, but it would have been weird to end it anywhere else. It's also a little choppy, but I did it that way on purpose. Spencer is flipping shit, so it totally makes sense. Please don't hate me! Keep reading. I promise you'll love it!

REVIEW! If I get another chapter done today I will post it in honor of PLL Day. And if not then you can expect the next update will be on Friday. Unless for some reason, God forbid, we have another snow day!

Chapter 10

SPOV

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. She hadn't wanted to leave Caleb behind, but what was she supposed to do?

How had this even happened? One minute she was laying curled up in Toby's arms, and the next minute he and Hanna were missing. How had A gotten them out without waking anyone up? This didn't make sense. Nothing made sense anymore, and she didn't like it at all. What was the point of being the smart one when you didn't understand anything?

The cool morning air whipped around her as she ran through the woods. Branches and twigs cut at her face, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered other than getting to them in time. She would save Hanna and Toby if it was the last thing that she did. Hanna had been her best friend for her entire life, the only person who had always been there for her with no questions asked. And Toby. Oh Toby. He went so quickly from someone that wasn't even on her radar to someone who meant literally everything to her.

Her breathing came out in short, haggard breaths. Emotion constricted her throat as she noticed the words beginning to clear. The building was straight ahead, and she felt a momentarily burst of hope until she looked down at her watch. There was only forty seconds left.

Who knows what condition they were in. If they were unconscious or tied up, and she couldn't imagine a situation in which they wouldn't be one or the other, there was literally no way that she would be able to get them both out in time.

_She wasn't going to make it._

No. No, she wasn't going to make it or she was going to die trying. She couldn't lose either of them. She wouldn't.

She approached the barn without even marginally slowing down. If she was going to save them she couldn't hesitate at all.

With about thirty feet to go the barn exploded into a mass of red and orange flames. Spencer had scarcely been able to comprehend what had happened before the forced of the blast sent her flying into a nearby tree.

The force of the collision knocked the breath from her lungs. She laid curled up on the ground, trying very hard to catch her breath. They might still be okay. She had to get up and move.

When she felt semi-coherent she shakily crawled across the ground on her hands and knees to where she assumed that they would be.

The world stopped spinning as the smoke cleared. As she peered into the nearly created hole it was apparent that nothing was left. She collapsed onto the ground and covered her face with her hands. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real.

The acrid smell of the smoke and the fact that she could still feel the heat on her skin reminded her that it was real. She was too late. She failed them. They were gone.

She didn't know how long she laid there before she felt a hand on her back. She didn't even respond. It didn't matter who it was. All that mattered was that everyone that she cared about were gone. They were gone and they weren't coming back.

"Spencer."

_Caleb. _She still had Caleb to worry about. Words weren't going to be possible right now without tears; she turned around and tightly wrapped her good arm around him. She wasn't able to hold back the tears any longer when Caleb wrapped his arms around her. Sobs rocked through her body as she clung tighter to Caleb. The last person who had touched her like this was Toby, and now he was never going to be able to do that again.

"Spencer, we need to leave."

She knew that he was right, but she couldn't handle this. It was like everything was in a haze. The smell of the smoke filled her nose, and she could still feel Caleb holding onto her, but it was like it was a dream. She only felt partially there.

"Spencer I would carry you, but I can't. My ankle. Please snap out of it. Trust me, I'm feeling everything that you're feeling right now, but we have got to get back to the car and dial 911."

The pleading in his voice snapped her out of it. The emotional tone in his voice showed her that he needed her as well. "Do you need help?"

He used her shoulder to stand and then held his hand out to help her. "Let's just hurry."

They walked together to the car as quickly as they could. Spencer scarcely noticed anything going on around her. She just focused on getting to the car before she completely fell apart.

Spencer climbed into the driver's side of the car. Her broken arm would be easier to drive with than Caleb's injured ankle. As they sat in the overgrown driveway she heard sirens approaching. The task at hand was all that she could currently focus on or else she was going to break down, and she didn't know if she'd ever be able to put herself back together.

"Caleb, what are we going to do?"

She didn't like how her voice broke in the middle of the sentence, but at least she didn't start crying. Not yet. There would be enough time for that later.

"I don't know."

His words were soft, but she could hear the desperation behind them. Her hand reached out to grab his. If she knew nothing else she knew that they would have to lean on each other if they were ever going to get through this.


	12. Chapter 12

Okay guys. After writing this chapter I have decided that I write good angst. I'm going to have to think of an angsty story to write when I'm done with this one. LOL. Happy reading.

OKAY THAT EPISODE OF PLL. HOLY FREAKING HELL. I'm not going to post spoilers in case some of you haven't seen it yet, but I LOVED IT. And I cried like a freaking baby during the last few minutes. At THE PART. If you've seen it you totally know what I'm talking about.

And another question. Is there anyone out there who wants to do a one on one PLL role play? It's something I've wanted to do for awhile, but I hate role playing on tumblr. We could do it via email and if you're a girl I would play a boy for you if you played one for me. A Haleb fan would be best, but if you're all about Spoby we could take turns being Spencer... I'd like it if you had something written on here so I could read it, but it could be awesome! Let me know!

The next chapter should be posted in the next day or two, but I won't post it unless this story is past 60 reviews, so make sure you review and let me know what you think!

Chapter 11

SPOV

It had been a week since she last felt Toby's arms around her. It had been a week since she last had laughed with Hanna. The past week had been filled with the worst pain that she had ever known. Breaking her arm, losing Toby to juvie, Emily and Aria leaving... Nothing compared to this. Nothing even came close.

How do you keep going when the worst thing has happened? What do you have to change inside to survive? Who do you have to become?

Explaining what had happened to the police without explaining what had been going on with A was difficult. She didn't even fully remember what they said, just that no one was bothering her anymore; not even A. The last week had been spent locked in her room with Caleb. They cried, laughed, and told stories, but nothing would ever fill in the gaping hole in her heart.

She missed Hanna. Her unwavering sense of humor and optimism. She missed her fashion sense and even her unwanted advice. She missed correcting her. But mostly she just missed her best friend.

And Toby. Oh God, Toby. She missed everything about him. His kind and gentle soul. The way he looked at her like she was the most important thing in the world. Her greatest regret would always be involving him in her life. Maybe if she had stayed away from him A would have left him alone. And he wouldn't have spent the last year of his life in juvie.

And now it was time to say goodbye. The Hanna's parents had organized a memorial service for Hanna, and they had agreed to let it be for Toby too. It was a nice gesture, but how do you say goodbye to someone who meant everything to you? It would almost be better not to go. That way she could always pretend that they were still alive; that they might just walk through the door way at any moment. It was going to be even harder because there were no bodies. Logically, she knew that they were gone. But the ambiguous loss was hard to reconcile in her mind.

The mirror was blurry as she blinked through her tears. Maybe mascara was a bad idea, but she wanted to look nice.

"Spence?"

Spencer turned around and gave a shaky smile to the only other person in the world who understood what she was going through. "Hey Caleb. You doing okay?"

He shrugged and offered her his arm. "About as good as you look like you're doing. Are you ready to go?"

A sigh escaped her lips as she nodded. She grabbed a Klenex off of her dresser before taking ahold of his arm, hoping to clean up her smeared mascara. It was as good as she was going to get today. "If I start ugly crying you have to tell me a joke, okay?"

He nodded and glanced at her eyes before giving her a smirk. It didn't quite reach his eyes, but at least he was making an effort. "What do you call a fake noodle?"

She laughed and wiped the tears from under her eyes. Why had she insisted on wearing eye makeup today? "What?"

"An imPASTA." He bit his lip before going on, "Hanna told me that once."

A sympathetic frown appeared on her face as she noted how saying Hanna's name seemed as though it caused him physical pain. "Han had the best cheesy jokes."

Caleb briefly closed his eyes and stopped walking. Spencer watched sadly as a tear ran down his cheek. "Come on Caleb. We have to go. We promised Mrs. Marin that we'd be there early."

She could tell by the look on his face that he knew that she was right, but that didn't make it any easier on either one of them. He nodded, more to himself than to anyone else. "Do you need me to drive?"

Driving wasn't a good idea right now. She wanted to be strong for everyone, but it just wasn't going to happen. If weakness was ever going to be shown today would be the day for it. "If you think you're okay to. If not we can just ride with my parents."

He shook his head and led her toward his car. "No, I'm okay."

As they drove off to the funeral home Spencer was consumed by memories. The time she learned how to rid a bike with Hanna on Spruce Street. The time Toby had kissed her underneath that tree. She couldn't imagine a time where she would be able to walk through this town without her heart hurting for what she had lost.

She was torn from her memories as they pulled in front of the church. Her hands began to shake violently as she unbuckled her seat belt. "Caleb, I don't know if I can do this."

His eyes met hers and the pain he was feeling was more than evident. Strangely, it comforted her to know that he was hurting too. Emotions were not something that she easily expressed, so seeing her feelings reflected in Caleb somewhat justified her feelings.

"We'll be together the whole time. It will be fine. I'll pass you tissues if you start crying, and we can just be rude and ignore anyone who tries to talk to us."

A laugh escaped before she was able to stifle it. Laughing just felt wrong at this point. How could she laugh without Toby and Hanna? "If you promise."

She hated to be vulnerable, but she knew that there was no way that she was going to be able to get through this day without Caleb.

"I promise." He flashed her a sad smile as he climbed out of the car. He lingered on the sidewalk, true to his word, and waited for Spencer to catch up to him. As they walked together into the church her dread grew more intense. How was she possibly supposed to say goodbye to the people that meant the most to her in the world?

"Spencer, Caleb!"

Spencer paused for a moment before turning around at the sound of Hanna's mom's voice. They sounded alike, and it sent a pang through her chest. She could only imagine how it made Caleb feel. After giving his hand a quick squeeze of support she greeted Mrs. Marin with as much enthusiasm that she could muster. "Mrs. Marin, how are you doing?"

From her tightly pressed lips, Spencer could see that she was more upset than she was going to let on. "I'm doing well, all things considered. Are you two doing alright?"

She went ahead and deferred that question to Caleb. Lying to Mrs. Marin didn't seem right, but she sure wasn't going to let her know that she felt like nothing would ever be okay again.

"Well. It could be worse."

She supposed that was true. Although, the only way that it could have been worse had been if she had lost Caleb too. If that had happened she probably never would have left her room again.

Before Mrs. Marin could question them further Caleb directed them toward a pew in the center of the sanctuary. She could completely relate to him. Socializing was not something that she felt up to right now. She wanted to sit with Caleb and pray that she could get through this without completely dissolving into tears. It wasn't really working because she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but if she could save the majority of them for when she was alone in her bedroom she would be happy.

"If I start crying will you punch me in the face so I can at least pretend to maintain some semblance of masculinity?"

She let a loud laugh. As it died down she smacked him lightly on the arm, but she made sure that he could see her appreciation for him trying to cheer her up. "Don't make me laugh a funeral, Caleb! But yeah, sure. I always wanted to punch someone in the face."

They grew quiet again as the church started to fill up around them. Some of the last people to arrive were the Hastings, who slid into the pew next to Spencer. At the sight of her parents she groaned internally. Why were they even here? They hated Toby.

"Caleb, have I fully expressed my condolences for your loss?" Her father gave Caleb a sympathetic frown. What was his game? He didn't care about what Caleb was feeling.

Caleb shot Spencer a confused look before turning to Mr. Hastings. "Thank you sir."

"And you, Spencer? I'm sure you miss your best friend."

Was that even a real question? Of course she missed Hanna. "I do."

He nodded and then got a look in his eye that scared her a little bit. He was about to say something that she wasn't going to like. "This might not be the best time, but my associate attorney's son saw your picture and he would like to take you on a date?"

Her face went completely blank. Was this a joke? He couldn't be serious. "I-"

Before she could even get an answer out he cut her off. "Don't judge so quickly Spencer. I think you will really like him. He's a wonderful young man, and he's of the same social circle as you. You have a nasty habit of dating trash."

At his words she could just feel the blood draining from her face. "Don't talk about Toby like that."

A snort left her father's nose before he responded. "I'm not usually one to speak ill of the dead, but the world's better off."

Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to calm down enough to respond. Usually her father's opinion wouldn't have bothered her, but there was something about his audacity to speak so poorly of Toby at his own memorial service that was causing her to be so emotional. "He- he was e-everything." She stammered her words out. Her chest felt like it was constricting as she attempted to hold in the sobs that were threatening to overtake her. She quickly leaned forward and rested her head on her knees as she tried to control herself.

"Spencer stop with the hysterics."

Wow dad. Thanks for the comforting words. She could hear her mom murmuring to her father and the two of them got up. She couldn't bring herself to care enough to look up and see where they went. Nothing mattered anymore.

A soft hand rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Spencer, you need to calm down."

She shook her head no, but she didn't look up. She couldn't. It wasn't fair that they were gone. Hanna made everything better. Her bright personality and smiling face never failed to cheer anyone up. And Toby was the best person she had ever known. Neither of them deserved this. But maybe she did. She was mean and smug. She knew that she was smarter than most people and she didn't try to hide it. She wished that it had been her instead.

The atmosphere in the room changed while she was having her depressed thoughts. She could hear loud whispers and gasps, but she just didn't care enough to figure out what was going on. Someone probably just tripped or something. When she felt Caleb's hand leave her back she almost looked up, but she couldn't bare to see his face right now. She didn't deserve comfort.

A new different hand found its way to her shoulder and she stiffened slightly. Goosebumps shot through her body for some unknown reason. This wasn't okay. If she didn't want comfort from Caleb she certainly wasn't going to want it from anyone else. Maybe if she didn't acknowledge whoever it was they would leave. It was probably just one of her parents coming to try to make up for her father's earlier harsh words.

"Spencer."


	13. Chapter 13

Okay, so I think you guys might hate me less after this chapter? Haha I really hope so. I'll just get right to it. I LOVE YOU ALL!

Second longest chapter ever! Sometimes Toby gets out of control in my head lol! I'm posting this so early because your reviews for the last chapter were WOOOOOONDERFUL!

I couldn't kill Hanna and Toby, you sillies. If I was going to kill anyone it'd be Aria, so like watch out if I write a story with her in it hahaha.

Chapter 12

TPOV

_What the hell?!_

Everything hurt. It felt as though someone had been using his body as a pinata. A supreme amount of effort was necessary to open his eyes. Once he managed it a quick scan of the room he was in showed him that he was not alone.

"Hanna!"

When she remained motionless against the wall he tried to move, but was frustrated when he was unable too. He was tightly tied up, and it looked as though Hanna was as well. What was going on? And Hanna. Was she okay?

"Hanna, wake up."

As he spoke that time he saw her move. _Thank God. _Now that he knew that Hanna was, at least, alive he could try to figure out what the hell was going on. He still felt disoriented. Had he been drugged? His voice sounded weak, even to himself. This wasn't good. Especially since this had to be A's doing. This person had nearly killed him and Spencer, kidnapped Hanna, and dug up a body. They were clearly capable of anything.

"Toby? What's going on?"

His stomach jumped as he heard Hanna speak. "Oh thank God, are you okay?"

He could practically feel her confusion. Although that wasn't really saying much because Hanna had always been one to wear her emotions on her sleeve. "I-I think so? I don't understand, what's going on?"

That's the question of the hour. He took a moment to collect his thoughts so that he didn't give her a sarcastic answer. Just because he was upset didn't give him the right to be rude to Hanna. "I don't know. What's the last thing that you remember?"

She closed her eyes and thought about it. "We were in the hotel, weren't we?"

The few words that Hanna spoke helped him to remember more about the night that they were taken. "You're right. We had just gotten you from Alison's grave, and we were hiding out."

As soon as he spoke his heart constricted in fear. _Spencer. _

The last thing that he remember was falling asleep with Spencer in his arms. Were Spencer and Caleb here somewhere too? She was still hurt. If A had done anything else to her he wasn't sure that he would be able to stop himself from killing them with his bare hands.

At that moment he vowed that he wouldn't let anything happen to Hanna. He would have protected her anyway. She was one of the only people in the world that he could call a friend. But more than that, no matter where Spencer was he hoped that she was with Caleb. She had to be with Caleb. The thought of her, alone with A, was unbearable. He knew that Caleb would protect Spencer, and he would do the same for Hanna.

"Toby!"

The urgent tone of her voice suggested that she had been trying to get his attention for awhile. When he lifted his eyes he immediately saw the cause of her distress. A tv had flickered on, and it was paused on a view of Caleb and Spencer. What the hell. How had he missed that tv?

He watched as they ran through the woods, feeling more confusion than anything. Some of the confusion was replaced by fear as he saw Spencer going off on her own. No Spencer, damn it. Stay with Caleb.

His confusion grew greater as he saw her approaching a barn. The panic was more than evident on her face, and he just didn't understand. A surge of anger, like nothing he had ever felt, rushed through him as he saw the explosion and Spencer getting thrown into a tree. She was still recovering from a concussion. Was this asshole trying to kill her? Come on, baby. Get up.

The joy he felt as she got up was quickly replaced by concern as he took in the devastated look on her face. He had never seen her look like that before. His concern only increased as he saw Caleb's equally devastated face as he joined her. Why did they look like that?

It was as though the screen could read his mind. The words, _Hanna and Toby are no more_, flashed across the screen. He still didn't understand.

When he heard a pained gasp on his right his head whipped around to face Hanna. "Do you understand what's happening? Why do they look so sad?"

She bit her lower lip and sniffles as tears welled up in her eyes. "I-I think they m-might think that we're dead."

His heart sank when he realized that she was right. It made perfect sense. A pang shot through his chest as he newly understood the pain and devastation on Spencer's face. If he thought that she was dead... No he didn't even want to go there. It hurt too much. "Hanna, we have to get out of here."

"But how?"

He simply shook his head. He didn't know.

* * *

He wasn't sure how long it had been, but he did know that it had been too long. He had to get out of here. Spencer thought he was dead. _Dead. _God, all he wanted to do was pull her to him and never let her go again. No one would ever separate them again once he got himself and Hanna out of here.

Once a day a masked figure brought them food, and since their hands were tied in front of them they were able to eat it without a lot of effort. He tensed as the door to the basement opened up again. Speak of the devil.

"Are you going to ever let us out of here?"

Hanna's angry words were surprisingly met by a response. Since they had been there the stoic black figure had been nothing by silent and unresponsive. They lifted a round devise to the mouth of the mask before responding. "Funny you should ask that."

"What the hell? Why do you sound like Dart Vader?"

He had to bite his lip to start himself from laughing at Hanna's mistake. Apparently she was feeling rather confrontational today. He definitely couldn't blame her for that. "I think it's to disguise their voice, Han."

"Oh look at Toby being all smart. And sexy..."

His eyes narrowed at A as they said that. First of all, definitely not something he appreciated. Secondly, he didn't think anyone had ever called him sexy before, other than Jenna, and it was making him feel uncomfortable. He may have thought that it was Jenna, but the figure was too tall.

Hanna glanced at his face before turning back to A with a glare. "Get on with it. What do you want?"

"Aw, look at Hefty Hanna being all protective of her new friend." You could almost feel the smile on this creepy person's voice.

"Alison's dead, you bitch. We know that, whoever the hell you are, it isn't Alison. So stop pretending to be her." Hanna's cold, angry voice was almost a little scary. She always sounded so cheerful and happy, so when that was gone it was just wrong.

A had apparently had enough because they reached into their pocket and tossed something small onto the ground. Upon further investigation he could see that it was a nail. As Toby was examining the nail A had walked to Hanna and untied the rope that was keeping her attached to the wall.

"The basement door is unlocked. You have twenty minutes before I come back down and take away your opportunity to escape. Spencer, Caleb, and half of Rosewood are at your memorial service at the church. It's your choice what to do with your freedom."

As A walked out of the basement Hanna looked up at him with wide eyes. He knew that she would do what he thought was best. It was apparent that this might be a trap, but they had to try to escape. "I know it's scary Hanna, but we have to try to get out of here. Think about how happy Caleb will be to see you. And Spencer."

Even saying Spencer's name caused his heart to constrict in pain and worry. God, he hoped that she was okay.

Hanna nodded and reached for the nail, but he shook his head. "I don't think you'll need that. Just come here and I will try to untie you and then you can untie me."

She scooted slowly across the floor, her muscles sore for inactivity over the past however many days. As she reached him she put her shaky hands in his lap for him to untie. "Hey. Hanna, everything will be fine. Okay? I promise. I won't let anything happen. We'll get out of here, and we'll go scare everyone and crash our own memorial service."

"Do you think they're okay?"

He didn't have to ask for clarification to know that she was talking about Spencer and Caleb. "Probably not. Would you be? Because I know that I wouldn't. If I lost Spencer I don't know how I would go on. But they'll be fine, because we're fine."

He waited until he saw Hanna nod before grabbing a hold of her wrist and slowly loosening the ropes. It hurt his wrists a lot as he pulled and strained, trying to get her loose. After about five minutes of effort he managed to untie her. "Okay, hurry and untie me so we can get out of here."

"Okay." She said softly and make quick work of his wrists since hers were untied and she could move freely. Once his wrists were loose she reached behind him and untied him from the wall.

Toby grabbed onto the wall and pulled himself up. He took a minute to regain circulation in his limbs before moving toward the door. "Let me go first, okay?"

Her nod of consent was definitely nice. Spencer probably would have pushed him aside with a role of the eyes. Being protected wasn't something that she particularly enjoyed. He would have gone first anyways, but it would have been a struggle. So Hanna's compliance made everything easier.

He pushed through the door and cautiously looked around before walking out and holding the door open for Hanna. Because he was holding the door open he saw her jump as they walked through the door and into the house. "What's wrong?"

"We-we're in the DiLaurentis house."

Her words shocked him, but there wasn't time to dwell on it. This was something that they would have to discuss later. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward where he assumed the front door would be. "We need to hurry and get out of here before A stops us."

When they got outside he let her go, and they walked quickly in the direction of the church. Since Rosewood was a relatively small town it only took a moment to get to the church. He moved to walk up the stairs to the front door, but this time it was Hanna that stopped him.

"Toby, if we go in there it's going to scare everyone."

He shook his head. That wasn't something that he could think about right now. All he needed was to see that Spencer was okay. Please let her be okay. "I need to see Spencer. I don't care what anyone else thinks."

She hesitated before nodding in agreement. "Okay. We should go in together I think."

He nodded and held the door open for Hanna before following shortly behind her. As they walked inside the gasps were almost immediate. If he wasn't so concerned about finding Spencer he would definitely find this amusing. It was like they were back from the dead.

It only took him a moment to find Spencer, but he had Caleb to thank for that. The mixture of shock and joy on Caleb's face when his eyes locked with Hanna was sweet. He would have stopped to talk to his cousin, but he only had eyes for one person right now. He paused as he saw her hunched down in her pew. Oh Spencer.

He took a few steps forward and stood next to her. The sobs wracking through her body were more than visible. He didn't know the best way to do this. No matter how he showed himself to her it was going to scare her, and he didn't want to do that. He lightly put his hand on her back and began to rub it in a gentle circle. Her body tensed under his fingers, but she relaxed almost immediately.

Toby took a deep breath as he prepared to speak. She didn't need to believe that he was dead for another second. "Spencer."

He felt her freeze underneath his hand. She wasn't moving, crying, or even breathing. Just as he grew concerned and was going to ask her if she was okay she sat up so fast that he was surprised that she didn't get whiplash. Her wide, shocked, and even a little terrified eyes studied his face. The confusion on her face and the tears pouring down her cheeks were almost too much for him to take. He reached up and began methodically wiping away her tears. "Talk to me Spence."

"I-Is t-this a dream?" She breathed and leaned into his hand. It was as though she couldn't believe that he was here.

"No baby. I'm here. And I love you." Spencer was breaking his heart right now, and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to let A get away with this. He would find a way to repay that bitch for hurting Spencer like this. She deserved nothing but the best, and this wasn't it. All he wanted to do was to pull her into his arms and never let her go, but he knew that she needed to make the first move.

After another tense moment a loud sob escaped her throat and she threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his neck. "You're alive, you're alive, you're alive." She murmured to herself, over and over again. The words tickled his neck and caused goosebumps to appear all along his arms.

Words didn't seem necessary at the moment. He simply held tightly onto her and soothingly rubbed her back. "I love you."

"I love you too. So so so so so much. So much."

Her tears were causing him to get upset as well. The more of her tears that he could feel running down his neck the closer he got to crying. A single tear ran down his cheek. He could feel Spencer calming down and he moved one hand to her hair to run his fingers through it. Anything he could do to comfort her. "Are you okay, Spence?"

"I am now," she mumbled and held more tightly onto him. "Just don't let me go, okay?"

He smiled, remembering their conversation when she was in the hospital a few days ago. "Never. You'll never be rid of me again. I'm so sorry."

She pulled far enough away so that she could see him. The confusion was more than evident in her bloodshot eyes. "What are you talking about? Why are you sorry?"

Is she really asking him that? How can she possibly not understand? "God, Spencer, for everything. I don't even know how they got Hanna and I out of the room, but I should have done something. Anything. I would have done anything to stop you from feeling this."

His words trailed off as he felt a surge of emotion. All he wanted to do was to protect her, and he failed in the worst way possible. He looked down at the ground, not wanting her to see how upset he had just gotten.

Two small hands found their way to either side of his face. Spencer didn't pull his face up to look at her, but she made it obvious that she wanted him to look at her. She had always been considerate in that way, never making him to anything that he didn't want to do. He reluctantly moved his eyes up to look into hers.

Spencer smiled sadly and brushed his hair back. "I love you. And you have nothing to apologize for. You're here now and that's all that matters."

"SPENCER HASTINGS COME GIVE ME A HUG!"

All the sadness evaporated from her face as Hanna spoke. She quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek before scrambling over the pew to get to her. Toby watched with a smile until Caleb sat down next to him.

"I'm glad you're okay, man."

Toby smiled at his cousin. "I am too. Thanks for taking care of her."

Caleb snorted and shook his head. "It's like you don't even know her. The only time Spencer let me help her was today, and that's just because it was really emotional. We helped each other."

That sounded like his girlfriend. "Why was she so upset when we walked in?" That definitely didn't sound like Spencer. She usually held in her emotions if it killed her.

Caleb looked away with a frown. "Oh. Um, her dad said some stuff."

Really? That was all he was going to get. Her dad said a lot of stuff, and it didn't usually affect her like that. "Caleb..."

"Toby, don't make me repeat it. It was just some really rude stuff about you. Had it not been a funeral I would have decked him myself."

What was wrong with that man? Did he not realize what he had as a daughter? Spencer was sweet, kind, wonderful, smart, and just all around perfect. He was so lucky, but he treated her like garbage. Rage shot through him, and he clenched his fists so that he didn't attack his girlfriend's father.

It was at that moment that Spencer sat back down next to him. He felt her hand brushing along his arm. "Are you alright?"

"Do you want me to go talk to your dad?" He could hear how annoyed and tight his voice sounded, so he was sure that she could too.

She bit her lip and threw an accusing glare at Caleb. "No, Toby. Don't even acknowledge him."

Why was she so forgiving toward him? He didn't deserve it. He deserved to have is face pounded in. "He needs to have someone teach him that he can't talk to you like that Spencer. I don't care what he had to say about me. That doesn't matter. The issue is that he should have done that to you on a day when you were already so upset."

She smiled and leaned up to kiss him. His chest swelled with emotion. She was so perfect, and he didn't deserve her at all. But he would spend every day for the rest of his life trying to show her how much he loved her.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Toby. I don't know how I ever would have gone on without you."

He kissed her again before pressing their foreheads together with a smile. "You never have to Spence. Never."


	14. Chapter 14

Okay, so I just read through the last chapter to make sure it worked with this chapter and I almost made myself cry. OMG. Hahaha. Okay yeah moving on. This chapter is from Hanna's POV so I hope that you love it. Well it starts with a little A...

I couldn't resist but to put a few references to the most recent PLL in here. See if you can pick them out!

This chapter is a bit shorter, but the next one is from Toby's POV and will be freakishly long. I haven't finished yet, but it's already longer than most chapters! Enjoy the fluff because it's about to get more intense than it has been yet.

ALSO, I'm posting this chapter tonight because of the AMAZING reviews I got within a couple hours of the last chapter! Please don't make me regret it and review!

Chapter 13

APOV

She smirked as she walked downstairs and saw that they were gone. Perfect. The dumb bitches didn't even realize that they were playing right into her hands.

They're so stupid. Why would she kill any of them? Her fun was just beginning. You can't play cat and mouse if the mouse is dead. Or too depressed to fight back. No.

She needed them strong. And she needed them fighting. It wouldn't be any fun to destroy them if they were already down. Making Spencer and Caleb believe that Hanna and Toby were dead was just the kick start that was needed. They would do anything to make sure that it never happened again, which would make the rest of her plans all the more fun.

HPOV

"Does this hurt?"

She tried to keep her wincing to a minimum considering Caleb was already worried enough about her, but she wasn't able to completely suppress it. "Um yes, considering I spent the last week with ropes digging into them! But they feel as well as they could, all things considered."

The worried look he gave her made a little flock of butterflies erupt in her stomach. The pretty orange and black ones probably. No ugly butterflies allowed in her stomach. Time for some deflection. "If you want to see bad look at Toby's! The poor fool looks like he's wearing red bracelets."

A noise of protest came from her right, and she couldn't suppress a smile.

"Thanks Hanna! As if the doctor hadn't already poked and prodded me enough already." He groaned in mock annoyance as he gestured to Spencer.

Spencer didn't even have a witty reply for him. She just grabbed his arm, carefully avoided his wrist, and pulled him down for a kiss. Hanna had known Spence for basically her entire life and she had never seen her so happy before. The elated grin hadn't left her face since they had walked out of the church together. And Hanna didn't blame her. She was feeling pretty blissful herself.

But that bliss didn't mean she could waste a golden opportunity to make fun of their sappy nature. "Caleb, the kids are being gross again!" She half whined and half laughed.

He grinned down at her and quickly finished bandaging her bruised wrists. When he was done he quickly pulled her to him and leaned down to kiss her. "Let's show them how it's done," he whispered into her ear.

She responded to his eager lips and lifted a hand to run along his jawline. Before she was able to deepen the kiss she was hit by a flying pillow. No need to ask who threw that. "Spencer!" she laughed and moved the pillow so that she was sitting on it. No need to give the sniper more ammunition.

The mood was officially gone now that she had to worry about pillows flying at her head. Thanks a lot, Spencer.

"I need food. Chinese I think," Spencer announced from the couch. She stood up and searched for her keys in her purse.

Toby didn't even hesitate before standing up and shadowing her. "I'll come with you."

"I don't need a babysitter," she laughed and leaned up to kiss him.

He leaned down to return the kiss and put his hand on the back of her head, gently grabbing a fistful of hair. He pulled slightly away, "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Before they could do anything else Hanna coughed loudly enough to get their attention before leaning over and whispering loudly enough to Caleb that they could hear, "This is getting to be a little much for me. I think I might puke!"

"Hanna!" Toby and Spencer snapped at her simultaneously.

She tried to keep a serious face but a long laugh escaped through her pursed lips. "Your faces! Just go get Chinese you losers. Get me some beef and broccoli!"

Spencer nodded and turned to open the door.

"No wait! Kung Pow Chicken!"

"Hanna!"

She bit her lip to hold back her laughter. "Okay, just get me some beef and broccoli."

Toby laughed and opened the door for Spencer, holding it for her before following out right behind her.

Hanna turned back to Caleb with a smile as soon as they walked out the door. "Now that we got rid of them."

"What should we do now?" He laughed and pulled her up to a standing position.

Hanna smiled and wrapped both of her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers together on the other side. "Can we talk about how much I love you? You are seriously the best guy in the world."

Caleb's smile faltered at her words. Both of his hands moved up to cup her face. "I... God Hanna, I don't know what I'd do without you. When I thought that you were gone..."

Yeah, letting this continue wasn't going to happen. "Caleb you don't have to worry about that. I'm here and I'm never going anywhere again."

"Hanna, we still don't know how A took you guys to begin with. I want to protect you, but I don't know how from this."

She didn't want to get sappy or sound like Spencer and Toby, but it had to be said. He needed to know how much he helped her. "Just the thought of you here with me helps me, Caleb. This whole situation would cripple me with fear if it weren't for you. But I think of you and I'm not afraid any more."

Caleb didn't respond verbally. He didn't have too. His actions were enough. His arms pulled her so tightly to him that there was absolutely no space between them. She could feel his short breaths against her head and his arms shaking slightly as he held her. Oh Lord, if he started crying she was never going to be able to keep the emotions under control. A crying Caleb was enough to crack tattooed prison inmates and those guys with fuzzy hats that guard the queen's house in England.

"We need to figure out how to stop A."

She had been thinking about that too. And she had an idea, but she was reluctant to share it. It was going to piss off Spencer, so if she was going to share it Caleb was who she should share it with first. Someone on her side would go a long way toward convincing Spencer. "I have a theory."

He pulled away and looked at her in shock. "A what?"

Hanna gave him a look and smacked his arm, "Rude! Do you want to hear my theory or not!"

"Proceed." He said with an apologetic smile, gesturing for her to continue.

She bit her lip and thought about how to continue. "I think if we're going to beat A we need to know who they are."

He nodded in agreement. "That's a good point, but I don't know how we would do that."

"Well," she paused again. This was the hard part. She truly didn't want to suggest this, but she couldn't think of any other way for them to figure out who had been torturing them. "I think maybe if one of us pretended to join her we might be able to."

"Yeah, but who would believe that? We're all close, and I doubt that anyone would believe that we would turn on each other." Caleb grabbed her hand and directed her over toward the couch. She was glad, because this was quite the intense conversation. Sitting might make it easier.

"I think they might believe it if it was Toby." After she finished speaking she flinched slightly, scared of what his reaction might be.

Caleb let go of her hand and moved his hand to her knee. "What makes you say that?" His voice was in a neutral, even tone. Hanna knew him well enough to know that meant that he was trying to hide some strong emotion from her.

"Think about it Caleb. Spencer and I have been best friends our entire lives. Like unwavering best friends. We've never had a big fight, and we always sided with each other during during the Alison drama. You have never had any trouble with any of us. But Toby? He went to juvie for Spencer. We know that he holds like less than zero resentment toward Spencer, but someone less saint-like would totally be annoyed. And we let him go. We knew the truth and we didn't say anything. He totally has reason to hate us, and he might be able to convince A of that."

It was several moments before Caleb said anything in response. "Have you told anyone else this?"

"No. I'm scared because Spencer will be really angry. And I'm also afraid that Toby will agree. If he gets hurt it would be my fault."

He hesitated again, and she wasn't sure what to think. "I think that maybe we should?"

"Really?" She knew that it was their best shot, but now that someone else agreed with her she was starting to second guess herself.

"Yeah. I'm just nervous. Because we both know Toby. He will agree to do this once he sees that it's the best idea, but that's kind of terrifying. There are so many ways that this could go wrong. But also, Spencer is going to flip out. Completely and totally flip out."

This isn't okay. Spencer just got Toby back after thinking that he was dead for a week. It was so wrong for them to ask her to risk losing him again, but she eventually realize that this was the best decision. Spencer was nothing if not logical. Before Hanna could reply to him the door opened up and Spencer and Toby walked back inside, their arms weighed down with bags of Chinese food.

Spencer smiled as she practically skipped over to place the bags onto the kitchen table. "Hey guys!" She walked into the living room and frowned slightly as she saw their faces. "What's wrong?"

Hanna hesitated, not wanting to be the one to tell them. Her heart leapt in her chest as she saw the loving way that Toby watched Spencer. She didn't want to ruin that.

Always the gentlemen, Caleb spoke for her. "We need to talk, guys."


	15. Chapter 15

Haha so I feel like this chapter is going to take a lot out of me. It's going to be rough to write this out. Like really really rough. I don't even want to type it, but it has to happen for this story... OMG DON'T HATE ME! I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I possibly can. No homework yet, so maybe I can swing finishing it by Saturday or so. But not until I get to at least 75 reviews. If you review and want a small sample of the next chapter ask me and I'll send it to you!

OMG I'M SORRY. If I was reading this story I'd be so upset, so I feel you. I'M SORRY.

Review and yell at me, okay? I WANT TO HEAR IT!

Everyone asking for more fluff? It's coming... but not yet. Wait for it, wait for it. WE HAVE TO HAVE THE PAIN FIRST.

LOVE YOU!

I'M SORRYYYYYY!

Chapter 14

TPOV

_"Guys we have to talk."_

Oh great. This wasn't going to be good. Their serious faces told him that much. As he watched Spencer walk across the room he jumped into action and trailed her to the love seat. After everything that had happened it physically hurt to have Spencer further than arms reach from him. He would rather die than let anything else happen to her.

Hanna and Caleb began talking, but he wasn't listening. All he could think about was keeping Spencer safe. Loving someone was strange. It's like you picked one person in the entire world to want to spend time with and to keep safe. And like when you're young you think that you are going to love someone for what they look like, but that's not even it. Spencer was beautiful, that's for sure. There was nothing more true in the world. But that's not even what he loved about her. He loved the way she always scrunched up her nose when she was thinking really hard. He loved the way that she was overly competitive and hated losing to anyone. Most people found it annoying, but he found it endearing. He loved her control freak tendencies. He loved the way that she defended her family, even when they treated her like crap. Her loyalty was amazing. He loved the good parts of her and the bad parts.

"No!"

His musings were interrupted by Spencer's distressed yell. His hand found its way to her knee and he turned to her in concern. "What? I wasn't listening. What's going on?"

Spencer didn't even turn to acknowledge him. "No. Seriously, no way in hell."

"Someone talk to me," he said firmly, his eyes traveling between Spencer, Caleb, and Hanna.

Spencer sat silently, obviously not planning on talking about it. Hanna gave Caleb a hesitant frown before starting to talk. "We think... that maybe... we will be able to take A down if we can figure out who they are."

He nodded in agreement. That seemed fairly reasonable. When Spencer saw him nod she snorted and motioned for Hanna to keep talking. "Stop beating around the bush and tell him what you want him to do."

"We think A would believe you if you asked to join," Hanna said simply, granting Spencer's request.

Usually he would have tried to see the positive aspects of Hanna's idea, but right now he was more inclined to walk away before he said something that may hurt her feelings. "Have you lost your mind? Why would I possibly want to join A? The A Team or whatever."

Caleb held a hand up to stop Hanna from speaking and took over. "Think about it Toby. Seriously think. It might be our only chance to figure out who A is. How are we ever going to be done with her if she stays a faceless enemy?"

Toby had another snappy retort ready, but as he turned Caleb's words around his head he began to see the truth in them. What they were saying made sense, and the risk didn't matter. It was a small price to pay for the only people who had ever proven that they cared about him.

Spencer could see his changing opinion on his face. "Toby. Damn it think about this. They aren't going to just let you join. They're going to make your prove it, most likely by hurting one of us. Are you prepared to do that without showing remorse? Because I don't think that you are."

He knew she was right. And he didn't think he could hurt any of them, but that's something that they could deal with if it came up. "We'll figure it out if it comes to that."

It was obvious how upset Spencer was when she got up and stormed off into the kitchen. Silent Spencer was a little terrifying. It meant that she was so upset that she couldn't even find the words to say. He didn't like it at all. More than that, she was further than arms length away and it was making him antsy.

"Most of the time I find angry Spencer to be funny. But right now I just feel terrible."

Hanna hit the nail right on the head with that one. And it's because it's such a serious thing. Also, they all had to see that she was probably right. "I hate to see her so mad, but I don't know what else to do."

"I'm not mad at you Toby." She sat down next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. He responded immediately by wrapping his arm around her. "I'm just scared. This is a terrible idea. But if you feel like you need to do it then do it. I'm not going to stop you or beg you not too."

This is another reason why he loved her so much. She always respected him and his decision. It wasn't something that she wanted at all, but she recognized that it was his choice. After everything that had happened with Jenna it was something that he needed. His hands found their way to either side of her face. He waited until she was looking into her eyes before continuing. "I love you Spencer. Everything will be fine."

"I-I just got you back Toby."

The pain on her face made his heart hurt. Didn't she realize that this was why he had to do it? "I'm so sorry, Spencer. But if this is the only way to keep you safe then I will do it without a second thought."

She grabbed his hands and closed her eyes. A tear squeezed out of one, but before he could wipe it away she opened her eyes. "If you're going to do this you're going to do it right. She held you guys at the DiLaurentis house? She might still be there. Let's go to my house."

"Hold on." Hanna said softly from the couch. "Toby, I know this was our idea. But you have to be fully on board. Don't do it if you don't think it's the best idea."

He shook his head. "No. This is the best idea that we have. I'll try."

* * *

"Are you ready?" Spencer's soft voice asked from behind him. He felt her hands running down her arms, but he couldn't quite focus. As he stared out a window in the Hastings house to the DiLaurentis house he began to feel nervous.

He turned around to face her and brought a gentle hand up to the side of her neck. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Rock it, T-dawg."

Toby peered around Spencer to give Hanna a confused look. Spencer snorted, but she didn't turn backward. "Hanna turns a little gangster in times of high stress."

He let go of Spencer to walk over to Hanna and pull her into a hug. "I don't know how this is going to work out, but if anything bad happens it isn't your fault okay?"

She pulled away to smile at him. He could see her gratitude even though the words were teasing. "Nothing bad will happen. You'll be a better A than the real one!"

He smiled and walked over to Caleb to shake his hand. "Take care of them."

Caleb nodded. "Be careful, bro."

Hanna and Caleb gave him one last encouraging smile before walking out of the room to give Toby and Spencer time to say goodbye.

As soon as the other two were out of sight Toby turned around to face Spencer. She stood staring back at him with a sad smile. God, she was so beautiful. He didn't want to hurt her, but this was what was best for everyone in the long run. "Wait for me?"

Her eyes lingered on his for a moment before nodding and throwing herself into his arms. He responded immediately, holding tightly onto her. He rested his head on top of hers and whispered into her hair. "This is so hard."

He felt as she turned her head to the side and rested it on his chest. "Sometimes the hardest thing is also the right thing."

Before he had a chance to respond she continued talking. "I will wait for you forever, Toby. I love you more than anything. Just stay strong, okay?" She pulled slightly away without moving her arms. "But you have to do this right. If you go and refuse to do what they ask you to do then they're going to know you're faking. I love you."

Even the thought of hurting Spencer made him feel sick to his stomach. But he knew that she was right. There was going to come a point when they were going force him to hurt Spencer. He didn't think he could do it, but he wasn't going to tell Spencer that. She didn't need to worry more. "Everything will be fine. I'll be back soon."

She nodded leaned up to kiss him hard. Before they were able to get too carried away she pulled away and turned to walk out the door. "Go before it gets impossible. I love you."

Without waiting for an answer she left the room, taking his heart with her. If he waited any longer he was going to lose his nerve. As soon as he walked out the front door he was already wondering if this was the correct decision to make. Panic wasn't necessary yet, because A might not even be at the DiLaurentis house. It only took a moment to walk across the yard to the DiLaurentis front porch. After three short knocks on their front door it swung open and he was faced with A.

The hooded black figure sent a wave of rage through him, and he had to really work to push it down. "I'm done with them. I don't know why it took me so long to see that those three are everything that's wrong with my life. And Spencer? That bitch." He had to take a moment to swallow hard and calm down before continuing. Calling Spencer a bitch was so wrong. So wrong. She was the exact opposite of a bitch.

"I went to juvie for her, and she didn't appreciate it. She never appreciated it. And honestly, I never really loved her. She was just the first person that showed attention to me, and I was confused."

A gestured for him to come inside. Seriously? Who could possibly believe those things? He would always love Spencer more than anything else in the world, and that should have been obvious to everyone.

Toby reluctantly followed A inside. It took all of his strength not to turn back to glance at the Hastings house.

"Prove it."

Oh look, Darth Vader was back. His inner turmoil caused him to not notice A grabbing their voice distorted. His heart sank when he realized that Spencer was right. He was going to have to hurt them. "How?"

"Go back over there and break Spencer. Say all the awful things you just said to me, and don't leave until it's done."

"I can do that." He gave A a confident look before turning around. He subtly pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent Spencer a warning text.

"And Toby, I'll be watching and listening. Don't screw it up."

He nodded and walked out the door. On the way back over to the Hastings he thought over what he wanted to say. At first he was glad that this was the task that he was given. At least he wasn't going to be forced to physically hurt anyone. He think that he could do that. But this? Even though they both knew it was fake it was still going to be so hard.

He swung open the kitchen door and walked inside. Spencer cautiously entered from the family room, and she gave him a tentative smile. If he didn't know her so well he would have thought that she was fine. But the tension around her eyes was a tell tale sign of how nervous she was.

Without warning she wrapped her arms around him and leaned in close to whisper in his. She was stealthy. To anyone watching it would just look as though she was hugging him. "Do this right, Toby. Don't hold back because you don't want to hurt my feelings. I love you."

She honestly took him way too well. He hadn't even realized that he was stealing himself to do that, but as she spoke he realized that that's exactly what he had been planning on doing. "I love you too. I'm sorry."

When he spoke she pulled away and gave him her normal bright smile. "Where'd you go?"

He set his mouth into a firm line. It was to hide his emotions from A, but he hoped that A would assume that he was annoyed with Spencer. "Where are Hanna and Caleb?"

Her brow furrowed in confusion at his tone. "They're in the den. What's wrong?" She took a large step forward and reached for his hand.

As much as it killed him, he took a step backward and hid his hand behind his back. "Spencer, we need to talk."

The hurt look on her face almost made him call off the entire charade. He promised himself that he would always protect her, and now here he was being the one who caused her the pain. This had to happen. It was for the greater good.

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

God, she missed her calling. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss away all of the pain present on her face. "No. I'm not. I'm done, Spencer. We need to break up."

She winced as though he had hit her. Her complexion had always been pale, but now it was like all the blood had drained from her face. "W-what? Why?"

This was going to be the hard part. With her looking so vulnerable it was going to be all the more difficult. The things he was about to say were things that she had felt innately insecure about, and he was going to bring them up and throw them in her face. He was a terrible person. She deserved better. "You know why, Spencer. I have spent the last year of my life in juvie in your place. I get jumped, cursed out, and humiliated on the daily basis. For you. And you never appreciated it. You barely even tried to stop me. You just felt like it was okay to run all over me."

He took a moment to catch his breath and took a quick gaze at her face. The tears welling up in her eyes set his hair on edge. There was no way that she was able to fake pain like that. God, he was really making her cry. He hated himself for it, and he hated himself even more because he had to keep going. "And now that I'm back all I've had to deal with was this A person TORTURING me. And it's obvious it's because of you. Caleb didn't live here, I was a social outcast, and Hanna is too nice. You're as bad as Alison, and I can't be a part of it any more."

Spencer opened her mouth to interject, but a loud sob escaped instead of words. A small, delicate hand covered her mouth to stifle her cries. Her back found the wall, and she slid down it coming to a rest on the floor. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She sobbed out and looked up at him with blood shot eyes and tear stained cheeks.

At that he had to close his eyes and turn away. If he looked at her for even another second he was going to either puke, comfort her, or go kill A for making him do this to her. Or maybe all of the above. "Too little too late."

He clenched his fists and quickly walked out of the Hastings house. This was wrong. This was so wrong. So wrong. The look on her face was going to be permanently ingrained on his brain.

Toby pushed open the door to the DiLaurentis house and waited for A to find him.

"I didn't think you had that in you."

The weird, disconnected voice was starting to freak him out. "I told you I was done with them."

A walked to him and pulled him into a quick hug. He stiffened, not particularly enjoying being touched. Juvie and Jenna had ruined that for him even if it hadn't been A hugging him.

"Go to the hall closet and find a black hoodie that fits you. We'll get started immediately."

The shame weighed heavily upon his shoulders. This better work A better reveal themself to him or else this betrayal was for nothing.

APOV

As soon as Toby was out of sight she slipped out his phone and began to look through his texts. She knew that the hug and grab trick would be beneficial one day. And exactly how beneficial it was was made obvious to her as she read the text that Toby had sent to warn Spencer. The little shits were playing her.

She was blinded by rage as she walked to the kitchen and selected the largest knife available. Once it was tucked into her sleeve she removed her mask and walked back into the living room. He should see her face as she killed him. No one was going to trick her. It was time to make an example of him.

"You?!"

She looked up and was met by his shocked eyes. A satisfied smile spread across her face as she slowly walked to him. "Me."

Once she was within arms reach of him she began to trail her fingers down his chest. This was going to work out perfectly. A quick glance at his face showed his continued shock. Before he had a chance to figure out what she was doing she pulled out the knife and plunged it into his chest.

His heavy body slumped against her and before pushing him to the ground she whispered into his ear. "No one betrays me."

As she watched him struggling to breath on the ground she smiled and pulled out her phone. Once the text was addressed to the other three bitches she typed out a quick message.

_He knew too much. -A_

She hit send and quickly walked out the back door. This was getting good.


	16. Chapter 16

I am so so so sorry for how that last chapter ended. Sooooo sorry! But it had to happen. I'd rather stab Toby than have him be on the A team. Whoops. Anyways, I will just get onto it.

Let me hear your thoughts in reviews!

Chapter 15

SPOV

Letting Toby walk out of the door without reassuring him that she was okay was one of the hardest things that she had ever done. Had she known him any less she may have believed that the only emotion he was feeling was anger, but she knew better. His worry and sadness were as evident as the faux anger, which in turn increased her own worry. He was going to beat himself up over this until she had a chance to reassure him.

Not that his words hadn't hurt, because they had. Everything he had said was something that she had been worried about for the past year. But she didn't hold that against him. She had told him to make it realistic.

Once she was sure that she had waited long enough she climbed to her feet and trudged off to the den so that she could join Hanna and Caleb. She grabbed some tissue to wipe off her tear stained face. She walked into the den and sat down quietly on the end of the sofa.

"Spence, are you okay?"

How to answer that question. No she wasn't okay. But she had been weak enough over the past few weeks to last her a lifetime. Now it was time to dig down deep for that Hastings strength. "Yeah, I'm fine." She hoped that her positive words and optimistic smile would be enough to fool her best friend.

The barrage of text tones cut off any response that Hanna would have made. Had it been one or even two of their phones Spencer would have been significantly less concerned. But the fact that all three of their phones went off at once meant that it could only be A. She reluctantly picked up the phone, and her blood ran cold when she read the text. He knew too much? It wasn't completely evident what that meant, but she wasn't going to wait and find out. She was going to go get Toby.

"Spencer, stop! Where are you going?"

"Unless you want to tackle her don't bother. She's on a mission."

If Spencer had been less worried she would have laughed at how well Hanna knew her. There was no way that she was stopping for anything. They were following after her and that was fine. The rustling of the grass was all she heard as she neared the DiLaurentis house. She quickly took the porch stairs and pushed open the front door. "Toby?"

She heard a strange noise coming from the living room. It sounded like a mix between gurgling and running water. What the hell was that? She pulled the door open the rest of the way and walked into the house.

"Spencer, wait!" She heard Caleb hiss behind her, but she was having none of it.

Her legs quickly carried her into the DiLaurentis living room, and she was completely unprepared for what she saw. She had expected to see Toby and maybe A. But what she saw instead was her boyfriend laying on the floor covered in blood.

_Toby._

She scrambled across the room, her throat burning with emotion that she refused to show. All she wanted to do was cry, but she couldn't do that. She had to help him. She dropped onto her knees next to him and quickly assessed what she could. He was bleeding profusely from his chest. Okay, okay she could do this. She got an A in her first aid class.

Her shaking hands gently lifted his shirt so that she could get a better view of his wound. In the back of her mind she could hear Hanna murmuring on the phone, presumably talking to 911. "Caleb get me a shirt or a towel or something. A blanket. Anything."

Caleb was back almost immediately with a dish towel. Spencer took it silently and took a deep breath before placing it on top of Toby's wound and pressing down as hard as she could.

A groan of pain slipped out of his lips. Usually that wouldn't make her feel good, but a least he was awake. "Toby. Baby, please open up your eyes."

He fluttered his eyes opened and stared at her. "S-Spen-ence," he choked out. The hazy, vacant look in his eyes was worrying her more than anything.

"Toby you have to stay awake. Please. Please just keep your eyes open."

A tear cracked its way through her well built facade of tranquility. She followed its progress as it splashed against his chest. She glanced behind her to check on Hanna and Caleb. If she was going to lose it she'd rather they be her audience than Toby. He would only worry about her, which was the last thing he needed to be doing right now. "You guys called 911?"

Hanna had a completely horrified look on her face, but she managed to nod. "They'll be here soon."

Spencer gave her a short nod of approval, but before she could ask if she should be doing anything else for him she felt a cold hand come to rest on top of hers. Her brown eyes whipped around to meet his warm blue ones in concern.

"I l-love y-y-you."

At the sound of his pain filled voice her stomach twisted and she felt like she might puke. Of all the people in this room Toby deserved happiness the most. After everything he had been through he deserved nothing but joy. "I love you too. You're going to be fine. Don't give up! Please Toby, just keep fighting."

His hand shifted slightly so that he was holding onto her top hand rather than just resting it on top of hers. Because she hadn't taken her eyes off of him she saw as his breathing slowed and he passed out.

"No. No damn it! Wake up, Toby! Please. Oh God, please."

Her calmness had left her completely, and she could feel herself hyperventilating. No. No no no not again. Not again. Sirens could be heard approaching the house, but that wasn't even on Spencer's radar. All she cared about was keeping pressure on the wound. He wasn't going to die. Not on her watch.

"Spencer you need to move."

She barely heard Hanna's pleading voice behind her. She wasn't called focused for no reason, and right now all of her focus was on the broken boy that she loved. Come on Toby. Open your eyes.

Two arms wrapped tightly around her waist and dragged her away from Toby's body. As she was pulled away she could see the paramedics making their way toward him. But that didn't matter. She had to make sure that he was okay. Her struggling continued. It didn't matter how she did it, but she had to get back to Toby.

"Spencer, calm down. Come on, we have to get to the hospital."

Caleb didn't wait for permission. He adjusted his arms and pulled her into a tight hug. She could see his dual purpose. Caleb might not be a body builder, but he was stronger than her. She wasn't going to be able to get away from him. Also, a hug was much more comforting than a restraining hold.

At that moment she heard the scary, dry sobbing noise that was coming from her throat. She had managed to keep the tears away, but the emotions burst through on their own. She scarcely noticed as Caleb pulled her through the yards and to her car.

He helped her into the backseat, and Hanna slid in next to her, holding her tightly. But it didn't help. All she felt was numb. Maybe if she had been faster or had done better then she would have been able to keep him conscious.

She felt as they helped her from the car and was semi-aware of being led to the waiting room. But she wasn't focusing. She couldn't think and she couldn't feel anything. Nothing mattered. Not anything. Once she was seated in a chair she pulled her legs up to her chest and focused on the wall, completely determined not to say anything or move until she found out what was going on with Toby.

* * *

Four hours. _Four freaking hours._

Her tears had stopped a couple hours ago but the numbness remained. All she could think about was Toby. _Toby. _If he wasn't okay she would never forgive herself. She knew that this was a bad idea, but she didn't fight it hard enough. She gave in so quickly. Maybe she could have deterred him.

A soft bundle of cloth was pressed onto her knees. She looked up into the worried face of her best friend. "Spence, go change. The gift shop only had extra large in sweats and hoodies so you'll swim in them, but you need to put them on anyways. You're covered in Toby's blood."

She looked back down, having no intention of getting up.

"Spencer! When Toby wakes up it won't be good for him to see you like this. You know him. You know he'll worry about you before he thinks of himself, and I know you don't want that. Go change so that he doesn't have a reason to."

She wished that people would stop saying his name. It hurt. It physically hurt. But she knew that Hanna was right. She grabbed the clothes and walked as quickly as she could to the bathroom. The doctor had said he would come talk to them as soon as Toby stable, and there was no way that she was going to miss that.

Hanna was right when she said the clothes would swim on her. The hoodie went down to her knees, and she had to roll the sleeves up five times so that she could find her hands. And thank God the sweats had a draw string. She rolled up the legs, threw her old clothes in the trash, and quickly walked back into the waiting room.

Her heart dropped when she saw the doctor talking to Hanna and Caleb. Of course that would happen when she was in the bathroom. She stood behind Caleb and listened as the doctor spoke to them.

"Hey sweetie, let me catch you up. Mr. Cavanaugh is stable, but he's still not out of the woods. It's not looking great for him, but I don't want you to give up hope either. We see people pull out of much worse than this. And he seems like a fighter."

This was all too much. A hoarse cough cleared her throat. "Can we see him?" Her voice sounded scratchy from a lack of use over the past few hours. Both Hanna and Caleb turned to look at her like her words were shocking. It's not like she hadn't talked in years. It had just been a few hours. If she felt like talking she would have sarcastically responded to their shocked looks.

The doctor took in her haggard appearance with a concerned frown. "Are you sure you're up for that?"

She couldn't stop an amused snort from escaping at his words. "I think that if his room was on top of Mount Everest I could climb it to get to him right now."

He nodded and led the three of them in the direction of Toby's room. "We think that he can hear you even though he is not conscious. So talk to him. Maybe you'll be able to do what we weren't and get him to wake up." As soon as he finished talking the doctor walked back off in the direction they had came from. She supposed it made sense. He was a doctor; places to be, lives to save.

Suddenly she was afraid of walking into his room. What kind of shape was he going to be in?

"Spence, what's wrong?"

She bit her lip and shook her head. She wanted to tell them, but she wouldn't burden them with anything else. Caleb and Hanna had already done too much. They didn't need to take care of her even further. Besides, she had to go. She had to be there for him. He would for be there for her if their situations were reversed.

With a deep breath she pushed his door open and took a seat next to his bed without looking up. After a moment of staring at the ground she hesitantly lifted her face so that she was looking into his eyes. The sight of him laying weak in a hospital bed was enough to take her breath away. He was so profoundly good. He didn't deserve this.

"Hey Toby," she said softly and placed her hand on top of his. The coldness of his hand shocked her, but she pushed down the emotions. This wasn't about her. She had to be there for him. "Be strong, okay?" She could hear the sadness in her voice, but she couldn't help it at this point. It was just too emotional. "Don't give up. Just keep fighting."

She could hear Hanna and Caleb talking in the background, but she couldn't hear them. Her hand stroked the side of his face, focusing on any sign of life. If he woke up she was going to notice it. After awhile she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. Now that she was next to Toby maybe she would be able to fall asleep. She lowered her head to the bed next to him, closed her eyes immediately, and she drifted off to sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Read the authors note at the end.

But yeah this chapter is for Pllspobyhaleb for being the best new (I think!) Reader ever! Your reviews always make me smile and want to update faster!

Chapter 16

SPOV

Spencer awoke with a start. As she glanced around the hospital room to see what had woken her up her eyes were met with an older blonde nurse.

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to wake you."

A quick glance at her watch told her that she had been sleeping for the better part of four hours. "How is he?" She asked the nurse, not bothering to acknowledge her apology. She was actually happy that she had woken her up. At least she could get some information on Toby.

"Much the same. But don't give up hope, dear. I have a great feeling about this. He'll be fine."

Her condescending tone did nothing for Spencer. She wasn't a child. Recovery wasn't based upon the hopes and dreams of others. It happened because of science, strength, and hard work. Regardless, she didn't want to be rude. "Thank you."

After that she had had enough conversation, so she turned her eyes onto Toby. He had always been such a rock for her, so seeing him so weak and vulnerable made her feel more emotional than she cared to admit. She was good at a lot of things, perhaps more so than most people. But one thing that she was not good at was showing her emotions. In the Hastings house that was considered to be a weakness. Growing up with Melissa had already given her a great deal of feelings of inadequacy. But appearing stoic and emotionless? That was something that she could do.

A comforting hand found it's way to her shoulder. Spencer turned to face the nurse again. "Dear, the love you feel for him is more than obvious. Just talk to him. Tell him how you feel. If anyone can get him to wake up it will be you." After completing her speech the nurse turned around and walked back into the hallway.

She bit her lip and nodded. If nothing else, talking to him might make her feel better. After quickly glancing at Hanna and Caleb to ensure that they were still asleep she turned to Toby. She pulled herself up from her chair and carefully sat on the edge of the bed. "Toby, you have to wake up. Please."

Her hand found his and she joined their hands together. They should always be connected. No one and nothing else mattered. "I love you. I love you so much. Baby, I can't live without you. I can't. Please wake up."

She reached up to wipe away the tears from underneath her eyes. Crying frustrated her, but she didn't even care right now. It's not like anyone was even around to see how upset she was. "I don't think that I've ever explained to you how much you mean to me. I'm sorry for that. But you know how hard it is for me to express feelings. But God, Toby I just love you so much. Obviously I have my friends. And they are the best in the world. But other than them I grew up in a house without any love. I'm sure that my parents love me, but they don't know how to show it. And then you came along. Your awkward, adorable, perfect self just kind of jumped into my lap and you showed me everything that I was missing. I didn't expect to fall in love with you, but I did. I fell fast and I fell hard. And before I knew it you were everything to me. You were literally everything. I can't live without you anymore Toby. Please wake up. Please."

She couldn't talk anymore. Her throat swelled as she was overcome with emotions. She lowered her tear stained face to the blankets and closed her eyes. "Please wake up," she mumbled into the blankets.

"Spencer," whispered a nearly inaudible voice.

Her head lifted up and she stared down at the very conscious face of her injured boyfriend. The wave of emotions that overcame her was confusing. She didn't know whether to smile, laugh, or start to cry hysterically.

She opened and closed her mouth several times before she felt like she could talk without bursting into tears. "Did you hear all of that?"

He nodded and reached out for her hand. The pain was obvious on his face so she quickly reached out to meet him halfway. "I love you too."

Her heart twisted up like a pretzel and she felt a new wave emotions came over her. She never thought that she would hear him say that again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What about you?"

Her nose wrinkled up in confusion. "I don't believe you. And why wouldn't I be okay? You were the one who got stabbed like a pin cushion."

"I said some horrible things to you Spencer. I need to know that you know that I don't really think any of it." The concern was both adorable and annoying at the same time.

"Toby, you just got stabbed. Please don't worry about me right now."

His hand squeezed hers, the weakness behind it was kind of concerning. "Spencer I have to know that you're okay. Please." The lack of answer as to how he was doing was apparent, but she wasn't going to push him. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't. If it made him feel better not to admit it than that was fine.

"I'm fine, baby. I told you to make it realistic. You didn't do anything wrong."

His eyes bore into hers, and it was like he could see right through her. "Can you wake up Hanna and Caleb. I need to tell you guys something."

Before that moment she had completely forgotten why Toby had been in the DiLaurentis house to begin with. Had he seen A without their mask? Either way, she had to do something first. Her face slowly leaned down until their lips met. He responded more weakly than she would have liked, but that was fine.

She pulled away and walked over to Caleb. He was infinitely easier to wake up than Hanna, and Hanna wouldn't bite his head off for waking her up. She gently shook his arm until he stirred. "Caleb?"

"Yeah?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Toby's awake and needs to talk to us. Can you wake up the grumpy one?"

Caleb immediately sat up, alert as though he hadn't been asleep at all. "Yeah, of course." Light sleepers were some of the best people in the world.

Not wanting to be away from Toby for anything second longer than she had to she turned around and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Do you need anything? Water, a doctor, something from the vending machines?"

He shook his head and grabbed back a hold of her hand. "Don't leave."

"I'll be here as long as you are," she promised.

"Okay, if I'm going to be awake at 4 am there had better either be cake or some awesome answers," said the tired, grumpy voice of Hanna Marin. Hanna was wonderful almost all the time, but she was not so wonderful when she hadn't had enough sleep.

Toby nodded and coughed to clear his throat. "I'm actually really confused."

As he spoke he used the hand that wasn't fused to Spencer's to pull on the tubes that were feeding him oxygen through his nose. Spencer laughed and grabbed his wondering hand. "Oh no you don't."

He smiled and pulled her hand to his mouth, planting a chaste kiss on the back of it.

"If I had known we were just going to be treated to the Romeo and Juliet show I would have just stayed asleep."

"No you wouldn't have, grump ass! Then you would have missed the results of Toby's ill-fated espionage." She laughed and flashed Hanna her most teasing smile.

"Oh espionage! I love that word. It's fun to say."

That's why she used it. And now Hanna was finally starting to sound more like herself.

Caleb cleared his throat and waited until everyone was looking at him. "And speaking of said espionage. What did you find out, Toby?"

He took a deep breath before continuing. Whatever he was going to say, he was nervous about it. "Right before A stabbed me she took her mask off. I don't know if it was because she was going for shock value or if she didn't think I was going to survive. But the fact remains that I saw her."

This was it. They were going to finally figure out who had been torturing them for weeks. And now maybe they could end it. "Who was it, Toby?" She kept her voice as calm and as neutral as possible, but in reality she was dying to know.

"It was Alison."

**AN**

**You guys thought I was going to kill Toby. You silly people. Oh shit, it was Ali. Now what? Is she working alone? How'd she fake her death?! Ahhh let me hear your theories.**


	18. Chapter 18

Haha alright guys. It's time for a change of scenery! Hope you enjoy this chapter! This really is going to be my last daily update for awhile, unfortunately. Unless I get like no homework again, lol. Either way, please keep reviewing! This is from Hanna's point of view for all you cute little Haleb lovers. I hope you appreciate this because even thinking about Haleb HUUUUURTS. So excuse me if there is minimal fluff between them for a little while!

But speaking of updates, I have gotten a very disappointing number of reviews for the last two chapters. I have the next chapter written, and it ends with another HUGE TWIST. So I will go ahead and post that once this chapter gets 5 reviews.

For those of you who have been reviewing, I LOVE YOU. For those of you who haven't, go ahead and start?

This is mostly a filler to set up what happens next. The next chapter ends with a doozy though, lol! So get ready.

Chapter 16

HPOV

Had Toby lost his mind? Alison was dead. Did he bump his head when he fell down?

"I know it sounds crazy. I know it does. But I saw her face, and it was before she stabbed me. It was her."

Hanna didn't even no what to say, and apparently that was a sentiment that the entire room felt. It was so silent that you could hear a pen drop. And actually, that statement had never made sense to her. Pens are kind of loud when they fall down. And what about pencils?! They probably make about the same noise that a pen would make.

Spencer pushed his hair back and looked at him in concern. "I believe you. I'm sure we all believe you. It just doesn't make sense. She's dead."

"I never knew Alison all that well. But you guys made her sound utterly psychotic. Is it really so inconceivable that she could have faked her death?"

That was her man. He's so smart. "He has a point," she said thoughtfully.

"Dying young isn't tragic. That's immortality, my darlings. Forever young and beautiful." Spencer said to herself. She had her thinking face on, so she knew better than to interrupt her thought process.

But apparently Caleb didn't. "That's morbid. Who said that?"

"Ali..." Hanna said softly. She remembered the day clearly because she was just so uncomfortable. Back when she was fat any time on the beach sucked. Especially when Ali was involved. The girl never hesitated to make her feel badly about herself.

Spencer released Toby's hand and began pacing. "She practically told us that she was going to fake her death. It was right in front of our faces."

Toby followed her with his eyes, a small crease of worry appearing between his eyes. "What do we do now? No one is going to believe us. It's not like we have proof."

She stopped and turned to look at him, her hair flying over her shoulder. Hanna had always loved Spencer's hair. "I think that we need to tell someone."

"What?!" Hanna exclaimed incredulously. And she didn't speak alone. Caleb and Toby had also expressed their disbelief.

Spencer's lips twitched as she surveyed her friends. She was obviously fighting off a smile. "Guys, we need to get out of here. We need to hide. I know that no one wants to run scared, but until we have a plan it's our best option. We can't just keep waiting like sitting ducks. She's already stabbed Toby, ran us off the road, and kidnapped Hanna. Who knows what's next?"

"Yeah, but why do we have to tell someone to do that?" Caleb asked her in confusion.

"I can get a hold of maybe $1,000, but if we can get my mom on our side we could get a lot more money. If we have to be on the run at least we can be comfortable. Also, I've found that classier hotels have much better security. After she kidnapped Hanna and Toby from the Holiday Inn, security sounds good to me."

"Double O Freaking Spencer, damn it, why are you so smart?" Hanna laughed and lightly smacked her arm. "It's rude. Maybe I wanted to be the smart one for once."

Spencer smiled at Hanna as she moved to go sit back down next to Toby. The smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and she knew it was because she was upset for not realizing that Alison was still alive sooner. Almost telepathy was a hazard of spending too much time with someone.

"Alright Spence, call Mama Hastings." Caleb said and passed her her cell phone.

Spencer nodded gratefully and moved to get off the bed so that she could make the call in the hallway, but before she could fully straighten up Toby reached out and clenched his hand around her wrist. "No, don't go."

She looked down at him with a small smile. "I'll just be right in the hallway, Toby."

"No just... don't go, okay?"

"Alright," she said slowly and sat back down on the bed.

While Spencer made her call Hanna turned to Caleb and grabbed both of his hands. She didn't want to feel happy that it was Toby and not Caleb, but deep down inside she was. She would never admit it to anyone. Toby was like her brother, and she didn't want him to be hurt. But Caleb was her life, and she didn't even know what she would do without him.

He let go of one of her hands and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Want to hear a joke?"

This is why she loved him. The big idiot. He always knew exactly what she needed. "Um, only always."

"What do you call an alligator in a vest?"

Her smiled grew slightly. Cheesy jokes were the best of all the kinds of jokes. "What?"

"An investigator."

Her smile dulled as she tried to understand the joke. An investigator? "OH! An investiGATOR." She laughed loudly and leaned up to kiss his cheek. A red lip print was left behind, but she decided not to say anything. It was kind of adorable, even though he wouldn't be thrilled when he noticed.

"You're beautiful."

She could feel the blush on her cheeks at his words, and she knew that he noticed too because his thumb gently brushed across her cheeks. Hearing him say those words meant a lot. She knew that she wasn't fat anymore, but the mental torture from Alison would always leave her emotionally scarred. Her insecurities had never, and probably would never, go away. "You're pretty okay, yourself."

Caleb had opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off as Spencer spoke back up. "Mom was already on her way to work, and said that she'll stop by here first to talk to us."

"It's 5 am," Toby muttered in confusion after craning his neck to look at a clock.

Her hand waved dismissively, "She's a lawyer. I don't think that she ever sleeps. She said she would be here in a minute or two, so she must have already been fairly close by."

Hanna laughed and turned to Spencer. The mood was still tense, but she was going to do her best to lighten it up. That was her only job, the comic relief. "Spence do you remember that time we snuck out to go to Noel Kahn's party?"

She gave a short chuckle and nodded. "And we thought we were safe sneaking back into my house because it was 4 am! But when we walked into my kitchen my mom was sitting at the table drinking coffee?"

"Yes!" She was glad that Spencer was playing along. It made cheering everyone up a little bit easier. "And then Emily managed to convince your mom that we just were having insomnia and went for a walk?"

"Oh my God, Emily could be stealthy when she wanted too! And no one ever doubted her innocent little face."

"Oh, I didn't believe you girls. Your faces were just so priceless and guilt ridden that I decided that you deserved a break." Mrs. Hastings breezed into the room and sat her briefcase down on the table in Toby's hospital room.

At the sight of Mrs. Hastings Hanna glanced over at Spencer. As usual, as soon as her mom walked into the room Spencer straightened up to her full height and her entire body tensed. It sometimes made her sad how uncomfortable Spencer was around her parents. One of the best people that she had ever met shouldn't have to deal with such a crappy home life.

Mrs. Hastings perched on the edge of a chair and glanced over at Toby's bed. "How are you feeling Toby?"

"Never better Mrs. Hastings." Toby's tone made it completely obvious that he wasn't okay, but she assumed that he felt like Mrs. Hastings didn't really care. Either that or he was just trying to seem strong.

"Okay, well Spencer tried to explain what was going on, but I'm still confused. Someone is harassing you?"

All four of them exchanged glances, silently discussing who should be the one to explain to Mrs. Hastings. In the end Caleb won out. "Hi, Mrs. Hastings I'm not sure that we've ever formally met. You might have just had glances when I was depressed when we thought these two were dead. I'm Caleb. Toby's cousin and Hanna's boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you, Caleb." She regally held out her hand for Caleb to shake and he responded. Oh look at her man, the perfect little gentlemen.

"So, to answer your question m'am, we've been getting anonymous texts for weeks. And we're confident that the person behind those texts caused Spencer and Toby's accident, they kidnapped Hanna, and they stabbed Toby. We know that they aren't done, and we think that it might be a good idea if we left town for awhile."

Mrs. Hastings immediately glanced over at Spencer. The worry etched on her face was kind of adorable, but Spencer didn't notice. She was too busy focusing on Toby. Her fingers were running through his hair while he looked up at her like nothing else mattered. Which was also kind of adorable. Alright, this is almost too much cute to handle. Tone it down.

Mrs. Hastings turned away after a moment and turned back to Caleb with a nod. "Why don't we just go to the police? This person is in the wrong. You don't have to be run out of town."

Hanna decided that she would take this one. She had this love-hate relationship with Mrs. Hastings. She greatly admired the way that the woman got things done. She also hated the way that she treated people. What a walking contradiction. "This person has stuff on us, Mrs. Hastings. Stuff that makes us look really bad, but isn't necessarily true."

"Do you know who it is?"

Hanna and Caleb exchanged glances. "Um, no."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, I will give you my credit card. Just promise me that you will keep me updated."

Spencer glanced up from Toby at her mom's words. "Thank you so much mom. We'll call you every few days and let you know where we are. Just don't tell anyone, okay? We don't know who A is, so no risk is worth it."

Mrs. Hastings stood up and passed Spencer her credit card. Her hand lingered on her daughter's shoulder for a moment before she turned and walked out the door. As soon as he was sure that she was gone Caleb walked to the hospital door and firmly shut it behind him. "Toby, seriously how are you feeling?"

He glanced at Spencer before looking at Caleb, "I'm not sure. Why?"

"I think we should go now. If we get you lots of drugs and are really careful do you think you can handle it? If we wait around Alison will figure out where we are and follow us."

He opened up is mouth, but he was cut off by Spencer's finger on his mouth. "You need to answer this for real. Be honest with us."

"I... um I think so. It'll hurt, but I think that it might be bearable as long as we take it slow."

Caleb nodded and ran off to find a doctor. Checking Toby out early seemed like an absolutely awful idea, but it was the only chance they had to get out of town before Alison noticed. "Are you sure, Toby? We might be able to still get away later as long as we are super sneaky. We have some mad espionage skills."

He gave her a shaky smile, but he shook his head no. "I can do this."


	19. Chapter 19

I really love this chapter, so I hope you guys do too! I really like writing Toby, lol!

Anyways I know I said five reviews, but I got a couple new reviewers, and the quality was good so I went ahead and posted this!

I love you all for reading this and encouraging me! The next chapter is done and will be up at 90 reviews!

Chapter 18

TPOV

Pain. Pain, so much freaking pain. He told them that he could do this, but this was literally the most painful thing that he had ever experienced.

"Okay Toby, we're here. Do you need help?"

God, he loved her. And he definitely needed the help, but the constant need of assistance was making him feel like the worst boyfriend in the world. He was the once that was supposed to be helping her, not the other way around. "Maybe a little."

Spencer nodded and slid out of her side of the car. She quickly walked over to his side, opened the door, and grabbed both of his hands to help steady him as he climbed out. His stiff muscles groaned in protest as he uncurled his tall frame from Spencer's SUV. The weather in Maine was much different than it was in Rosewood, and the cool air caused goosebumps to appear all along his arms.

Once he was out of the car Spencer wrapped her good arm around his waist She used the fingers on her broken arm to grasp her other arm to give herself added support. He didn't really like that though. "Don't hurt yourself, Spence."

"Yeah, says the guy that we practically forced out the hospital early. I'm fine." She helped him the rest of the way down the long driveway and in to the Hasting's summer home.

"Spencer Hastings, why have we never been here before?!" Hanna asked incredulously.

Toby glanced around the house and could definitely see Hanna's point. He had always known that the Hastings were rich, but this took rich to another level. This was literally the biggest house that he had ever been in. "A better question is why don't you like here all year long?"

She laughed and led him to the couch. "It's mostly because the winters in Maine suck. But more than that, my parents have their business back home."

"That makes sense," he said in the most controlled voice that he could manage. But Spencer noticed. She always did. Usually he appreciated his girlfriend's perceptive nature, but not when he was trying to hide his pain from her.

"Are you okay?"

He had had enough of the constant badgering. He knew she was just worried, but enough as enough. "I'm fine." His tone was much harsher than he had wanted it to come out. But before he could apologize she finished lowering him onto the couch and walked out of the room.

Great, and now he had hurt Spencer. Which was basically the last thing he wanted to do in the world. On his mental list of things to do hurting Spencer fell between gouging his eyeballs out with a spork and getting eaten alive by a shark.

"Why so grumpy?" Hanna asked him as she flopped down onto the couch.

When he first met Hanna he had thought she was just another ditzy blonde. But after getting to know her his opinion had completely changed. She was literally the most loyal person in the world, and she was also surprisingly intuitive. That's why her question hadn't surprised him. "I just feel useless."

"You've hardly been sitting on the sidelines, Toby. You just got stabbed on a mission."

He sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"Am I ever wrong?" She laughs and walks away, grabbing Caleb's hand so that she could drag him alongside her. "We're going exploring!"

Shortly after Hanna walked away her place was taken by taken by a much quieter Spencer. She handed him a glass of water and the mixture of pain medication that they had picked up before he left the hospital. He was a terrible person. He had just yelled at her and she was still taking care of him. "Spencer-"

He started to apologize, but she cut him off. "Hush, I have a question."

Well he certainly wasn't going to yell at her and then refuse to answer her question. Maybe he could actually do something right. "Yes?"

"This is purely hypothetical, mind you." Her business like tone was making him smile. He didn't know where she was going with this, but she was going there in a way that kind of made him want to just lean over and kiss her.

A small smile spread across her lips as she continued, like she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Okay, so hypothetically. Say this girl's boyfriend, who she loved an awful lot, had just been stabbed by a psychotic blonde. How would you suggest that this hypothetical girl help her hypthetical boyfriend without making him feel worse?"

He couldn't help but smile at her words, even as a guilt twist its way through his stomach. She didn't deserve to be talked poorly to. She only deserved the best. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I know you're just trying to help."

She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. He would have liked to have deepened it, but she pulled away too fast. It was probably a good thing. Pulling his stitches in the middle of nowhere Maine didn't seem like a good time.

"Don't apologize for stupid things, Toby. I won't be so overbearing as long as you SWEAR that you will tell me if you're hurting or if you need anything."

He nodded. That seemed reasonable. "The only thing that I need is for you to lay here with me. After everything that's happened, the only way that I'm going to be able to relax is if you stay in my sight."

"Hmm... cuddle on the couch with my very attractive boyfriend? I don't know, that seems like quite the hardship."

Toby laughed and carefully wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was infinitely better than having Spencer be away from him. "I haven't seen you sleep in awhile, Spence. Just relax, because everything is fine now. We're in Maine, Alison doesn't know where we are, and we're together."

She leaned on his shoulder, but didn't put her whole weight on him. Which was silly, because she weighed less than some kindergarteners. Not enough to hurt anyone.

"Shouldn't I be the one comforting you?"

"Don't you listen? You just being here helps me more than I can say." She really didn't see how utterly remarkable that she was.

"We're back!" Hanna's happy voice chattered from behind them.

They explored the entire house that quickly? Wow. "Did you find anything interesting?"

"Um yes. An indoor freaking pool. Spencer, we're going to go ahead and move in here, okay?"

Spencer laughed a little, but didn't bother to look up, "You could probably get away with it. We never come up here. My mom hates Maine."

The large couch depressed a bit as Hanna and Caleb joined them. "Let's watch a movie?" Caleb suggested.

"Just order one off of the On Demand page. Or find one on Netflix. I'm too comfortable to move and show you guys where the movies are."

Hanna snorted, "Oh darn. We have to watch a new movie on your massive home theater screen. That sounds awful."

"The Mortal Instruments?" Caleb suggested tentatively. No oppositions from Toby. That movie looked good, he just didn't have a chance to see it since he was in juvie when it came out.

"Oh!" You could just tell from Hanna's tone of voice that she was going to say something ridiculous. "That has that sexy blonde guy on it. Yes, let's watch!"

Caleb laughed as he turned on the movie. "I'm right here Hanna!"

Toby didn't hear her response as his thoughts drifted away. Some people would feel sorry for him, but they shouldn't. Here he was holding the best girlfriend imaginable in his arms, and watching a movie with two of the best friends that anyone had ever had. Life was pretty good.

* * *

Mr. Hastings' POV

"Okay sweetheart, thanks for letting me know where you are."

As his wife hung up the phone he walked to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Was that Spencer?"

She nodded and pulled away, apparently not in the mood to act like a couple. Which was fine with him, he supposed. "Where are they?"

"In the house in Maine. Which was a good choice, all things considered."

He nodded thoughtfully. That it was. "Would you excuse me for a moment? I forgot something in my car."

Without waiting for her response he turned and walked out the door, walking straight passed his car. He carefully stepped through the trees and up some steps to knock on the DiLaurentis door.

He flinched slightly when she answered the door. "Alison."

"Mr. Hastings. I hope this isn't a social call. Do you have something for me?"

Even when Spencer and Alison were friends he never liked the girl. But now that dislike was taken to a whole new level. "I know where they are."

Something dangerous flickered in her eyes as she took a step forward. "And where would that be?"

He held his own, even though she frightened him a bit. "I want your reassurance that you won't hurt my daughter if I give you this information."

"You're hardly in a position to bargain, Mr. Hastings. All it would take would be one phone call to your wife and your marriage would be over. Is that what you want?"

He closed his eyes so that she would be unable to see the indecision held within them. It was a choice between his wife and his daughter. He knew what the choice would have to be. He loved Spencer, but she had always been such a disappointment. He couldn't lose Veronica, but he would be able to survive losing Spencer if he must.

"They're at our summer house in Maine."

A dangerous smile spread across her otherwise pretty face. "Excellent."


	20. Chapter 20

A little Alison action and a little domestic Spoby action. The next chapter is back to the ACTION. Get excited!

A promise is a promise! You guys can thank hopeforspoby for this being so fast. She went back through and reviewed all of the chapters that she missed. I hope you all follow her lead!

Okay, so the next chapter will be up either on Friday or when I get 100 reviews. Whichever comes first. I don't care how you get me to 100 reviews, even if you go back and review chapters you missed. But yes! I will either see you guys on Friday or I will see you when I get the reviews.

And the next chapter is my favorite so you know, yeah. I'll just leave you with that knowledge. Granted, I love intensity, drama, and action. So if you like that you'll like the next chapter.

Chapter 19

APOV

This torture thing was kind of fun. And a challenge. Had it been just the girls then she may have been able to get away with blackmail. The only one who may have been smart enough to stop her would have been Spencer. But she would have been too focused on protecting the other three girls that she wouldn't have gone to the police.

But the loss of Emily and Aria and the addition of the boys made things more difficult. The skill set and the loyalty of Caleb and Toby forced her to up her game a bit. Fear could be a very strong motivator. And what caused someone fear more than worrying about physical harm coming to the ones that they love? Violence spoke louder than any blackmail could when it came to this particular combination of people.

At the red light she adjusted her oversized sunglasses and her scarf. No need for anyone to recognize her yet. Not until she got out of Philedelphia. Not that anyone could see clearly into her car while it's dark out. A quick check to her handbag showed her that the gun that she stole from the desk that her father left behind was still there. She wasn't strong enough to overpower Toby or Caleb. But no one will mess with the bitch with the gun.

Even so, it was going to be necessary that she have some backup this time. It was too soon for her to stop doing this. They hadn't quite learned their lesson. As she pulled up to the correct apartment building she honked her horn three times.

A satisfied smile spread across her face as Melissa Hastings stuck her head out. "Get in, loser! We're going to Maine."

* * *

SPOV

"Spencer?"

She could vaguely hear someone saying her name, but she was much too comfortable to care. Her face burrowed down into the pillows. The desire to cover her head with the blanket was strong, but she couldn't bring herself to move anymore than she already had.

"Spencer, wake up."

A tired groan escaped from her lips as she squinted into the morning sun at her best friend's face. "What the hell, Han? Are you up earlier than me right now?"

Hanna grinned down at her, "Considering the fact that it's after 11 I would say that most people are."

At her words Spencer reached onto the nightstand to check her phone. When she saw that it was 11:23 she tried to sit up, but she was pulled back down by something heavy across her waist. Confusion overwhelmed her as she rolled over to investigate, but that all melted away when her eyes were met by Toby's peaceful face. She didn't think that he even realized, but he had been tense and jittery lately. Ever since Alison ha caused their first car accident. She hated seeing him like that. This peace was wonderful though, and she was glad that he got even this brief respite.

She rolled back over to make eye contact with Hanna. "What's up, Han?"

"Well, Caleb and I are hungry. But there is literally no food here. Not even a stale cracker or moldy cheese. And well, you have the money, keys, and knowledge of local shopping..."

Shit. That's what she forgot. Usually her mom called ahead and the maids stocked the kitchen for them, so Spencer hadn't even thought about it. "Let me wake up Toby So he doesn't worry when I'm not here and then I'll go shopping, okay?"

She nodded and walked quietly out of the bedroom, softly closing the door behind her. Spencer really loved Hanna, but sometimes being her friend required a lot of care taking.

Once she was sure that Hanna was gone she carefully rolled over to face Toby. Her hand found her way to his face, and her thumb gently stroked in a circular motion. "Toby."

His eyes stayed close, but he leaned in to her hand. "You aren't pretending to be asleep very well, Toby." She laughed, but she didn't move her hand. If he enjoyed it she would keep it there forever.

"But I'm so comfortable," he mumbled. A smile stretched across his face as his other hand went for the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair.

Oh that's not helping her want to get up. Food. They needed to get food. Focus. She laughed and leaned in a little closer. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going grocery shopping. I didn't want you to wake up and worry when I wasn't here."

He pulled her to him and rested his head on top of hers, one of his hands on the back of her head and the other on the small of her back. "I'll come with you."

This was basically the most comfortable position she had ever been in, and she didn't want to move. She never wanted to move again. If they just laid here holding onto each other nothing would be able to hurt them. "Are you sure you want too? I'll be fine if you just want to sleep."

Toby pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before pulling away and moving himself up to a sitting position. "Not a chance. Let's get going."

She nodded, rolled out of bed, and walked to her closet. One of the best things about being in Maine was that there was literally no one here that she needed to impress. Toby would love her if she dressed in nothing but a garbage bag, Hanna had seen her at her worst, and she was fairly sure that Caleb didn't see any girls but Hanna. She grabbed a simple pair of skinny jeans and a long sweater. After applying minimal makeup she walked back into the bedroom and saw Toby perched on the edge of her bed.

Her head tilted to the side with a soft smile. It was amazing how even looking at him caused her stomach to go all a flutter. The hints of pain on his face wasn't all that wonderful, but she had promised him that she would butt out, and that's what she was going to do. If it got too bad he would tell her. "You ready to go?"

"Let's do this." She smiled and held her hand out to help him up.

* * *

"Okay Toby. I have a question that's going to define whether or not this relationship can continue." She said in as serious of a voice that she could muster while pushing a shopping cart through the aisles of Target. She obviously was just kidding, but she really actually did kind of want to know the answer to his question.

The nervous look on his face almost made her laugh. "And what's that?"

Her hands reached out to grab two jars of peanut butter. "Are we peanut butter compatible? Creamy or crunchy?"

"Um, I'm going to say creamy. But crunchy is good too. Actually, whatever you want is fine with me," Toby said hesitantly.

Oh he was taking this so seriously. That was basically way too adorable, but also a typical Toby answer. That's her boyfriend, always trying to make other people happy. "Creamy is my favorite too. Okay I guess you can still be my boyfriend."

"Oh good," he said sarcastically. His hand gently covered one of hers on the cart. "Are we ready to get going?"

"What? You aren't having fun grocery shopping?" She laughed and directed the cart toward the checkout line. Like she had honestly never had such a good time picking out groceries. Usually the whining children, people rocking their yoga pants and hoodies, and the junk food just begging to

He snorted and began to put the groceries on the belt. "I'm mostly just picturing Hanna and Caleb's reactions when we come back with a bunch of fruits and vegetables. Caleb will be mad that we didn't buy a cart full of Oreos and Hanna will complain that we didn't buy pretzels, but she will be secretly happy that we got her baby carrots."

She laughed with a nod. "I think we're all spending too much time together. That's going to be exactly their reaction."

As the transaction completed Toby reached around her to grab the bags, but Spencer dodged him and grabbed as many as she could. Was he trying to tear his stitches? "Yeah, not a chance buddy."

Toby sighed, but he allowed her to get all of the groceries. They walked together out to the car, and Spencer allowed him to carefully help her load the groceries into the back of her vehicle. She smiled at him and passed him the keys. She figured that she would give him some control. Driving wouldn't hurt him, right? "Do you want to drive?"

He smiled and nodded. Toby walked her to her side of the car and opened the door open for her first. Oh, there he goes turning her brain to mush again. With Toby driving the trip back to her family's house went by very quickly. She was not a huge fan of Maine, but the scenery was beautiful. The salty sea air rushed through their cracked windows. It was chilly, but it was just so comforting that she didn't care. They weren't here under the best circumstances, but being able to spend time with her best friends was really nice.

"What's on your mind, Spence?"

She was pulled from her thoughts at Toby's words, and she was shocked to realize that they were already back. The house was fairly secluded by the coast so it took awhile to get there. "Wow, I spaced out. I'm just happy that we're here together, all things considered."

He smiled at her before slowly climbing out of the car and to the trunk. Oh hell no. He was going to try to get all of the groceries before she had a chance too. His gentlemenly nature was going to cause him bodily harm if he wasn't careful. She climbed out of her side and moved around him to grab the heavier things. Before he had a chance to respond she walked into the house.

"Spence."

After she put the groceries down she turned to him and before she realized what was happening he had his arms wrapped tightly around her. "I'm glad we're here together too." His voice was soft, sensual, and it kind of made her heart hurt in the best way possible.

"I lov-" Her declaration was cut off as Toby's arms tensed around her. "What's wrong?"

Before she knew what was happening his arm tightened around her waist and pushed her behind him. The same arm moved in front of her as though to protect her from anything that came at them. And as soon as she looked up she realized why. Her eyes met the bright blue eyes of her former best friend.

"Alison. Where are Hanna and Caleb?" She asked in a tense voice. There had not been any doubt in her mind that Toby was telling her the truth. Not only did she trust him not to lie to her, but she would also have trusted him with her life. But there was something completely different about seeing Alison right here in front of her. The disconnect between having gone to her funeral and seeing her alive and well was very disturbing.

In her peripheral vision she caught some movement, but she didn't feel comfortable taking her eyes off of Alison. "We're right here," muttered the tense voice of Hanna. Even hearing Hanna's voice made her dislike of Alison DiLaurentis wash over her in waves. The insecurity that had all but disappeared from Hanna was back with a vengeance.

Once Hanna and Caleb had joined them Alison took a large step forward. Toby's hand pushed her back a bit in response. Alison's eyes zeroed in on the movement, and a condescending smirk appeared on her face. "Did you miss me?"


	21. Chapter 21

Back to the action. I can only write cutesy fluff for so long. I'm definitely all about the angst and drama.

Sadly, this is the last chapter I have prewritten! I'm almost done with the next one though, and I will post it at 110 reviews or on Thursday morning! Whatever comes first!

HAPPY PLL DAY! Let's all hope for lots of Spoby and that it won't break out Haleb loving hearts! On with it!

Chapter 20

TPOV

"Did you miss me?"

Before Alison came back into their lives he always thought that saying your blood ran cold was stupid, but right now that was exactly what he felt. With Alison in front of him and Spencer behind him he felt dread like not much he had ever experienced. Alison wouldn't have come here without a plan.

His injury weighed heavy on his mind, but if it came to it he would put himself in harm's way to protect Spencer without a second thought.

Behind him he could feel Spencer take a step forward, and in response he pressed his arm tighter into her stomach. She wasn't getting by him. He felt her hand gently rest on his back, and it provided him a great deal of comfort even though he didn't dare relax.

"Not even a little. Go back where you came from." Usually Toby appreciated Spencer's quick wit and sass, but right now all he wanted to do was groan. Don't antagonize the psychotic girl should be common knowledge for someone so smart.

Alison's smirk didn't dull, which may have worried him more than anything. What was she up to?

"Now," Alison said in a firm, loud voice.

Before he could process Alison's command he felt Spencer being torn away from him. No wasn't going to work for him, but when he turned around the sight in front of him caused his blood to run cold.

"Melissa?!" Hanna breathed to his right. Her shock was shared by everyone in the room. He had always thought Melissa was a bit of a jerk, but seeing her here with Alison was something completely unexpected.

His eyes zeroed in on the small metal object that she had pressed roughly to Spencer's head. His heart twisted in fear. There was a lot that he could take. He handled his mother dying. He managed to survive being assaulted by his step sister. Going to juvie wasn't an issue because him going was better than the alternative. But seeing Spencer get shot in front of him? There was no recovery from that.

But he also had to take a moment to be impressed by Alison's planning. Had Melissa just had a hold of Spencer he would have easily pulled her off. If it had been him with the gun to his head he would have fought her to get control of the weapon. This was literally the only thing that she could have done to force him into compliance. He would never risk Spencer in order to get the upper hand.

The shock on Spencer's face broke his heart. He knew that the Hastings sisters didn't get along, but he also knew that Spencer hoped that that fact would change one day.

"Melissa? Why?" No fear was present in Spencer's voice, only hurt. She couldn't see Melissa due to the position that she was being held in, but she obviously knew that it was her.

Melissa laughed humorlessly and grabbed a hold of Spencer's pony tail, tilted her head back so that she could get better access with the gun. "Alison and I had a lovely chat about how you're a bitch shortly before she faked her death. She confided her revenge plans to me, and I made it known that I would be there for her if she ever needed me. And here I am."

"Enough," Alison snapped from her position on the other side of Hanna, Caleb, and Toby. "You said there was a big safe, Melissa? Lead the way."

Spencer and Toby made eye contact briefly before Melissa dragged Spencer off by her hair down a hallway that they had not yet had the time to explore. A flash of fear was briefly present in her eyes, which made him all the more determined to protect her. As soon as Melissa began walking he followed after them like a shadow. While things were relatively calm he wouldn't risk anything, but at the slightest sign of trouble he would find a way to help her.

He could hear the others following behind him, but his eyes were glued to Spencer. As they walked into the room with the safe he was blown away by the size of it. What could the Hastings possibly be hiding in there?

"Is this where you guys keep the dead bodies?"

Apparently Alison was wondering the same thing.

Spencer sighed shortly. "No. It's my dad showing off. A my safe is bigger than your safe kind of thing."

A long laugh came from Alison at that. Toby first thought it was because what Spencer had said was kind of funny, but the look on Alison's face said something different. "Oh yeah. Speaking if your father. Didn't you wonder how we found you? Well, you can thank Daddy Hastings for that one."

Spencer turned around, shock being the dominate expression on her face. "You're lying."

Alison smirked, enjoying Spencer's distress. This was why she was doing this. "No. I'm not. And if you make it though this then you can ask him all about how he hates you and you're his biggest disappointment."

Toby only got a quick glance of Spencer's face before Melissa yanked her back around, but from what he saw he knew that he was going to have to find a way to comfort her later.

"Spencer. Open the safe." All the teasing was gone from Alison's voice, and she was back to business.

"What? No way."

He was glad that Spencer realized that opening it was a bad idea, but fear nearly overwhelmed him as he noticed a shudder pass through her body as Melissa rammed the gun into her head. His body tensed and he had to hold himself back from attacking Melissa. If he could guarantee Spencer wouldn't get hurt he'd do it in a second, but not right now. "Spencer don't get yourself hurt. Just do it."

He could see her nod, but she didn't respond verbally to him. "2-6-4-9-7-9-9-0-2-7-6-8-4-5-3-1-8"

Hanna carefully grabbed a pen from the desk and wrote out the combination on her hand as Spencer spoke it. Sometimes those two were so in sync that it scared him.

As soon as she saw that the safe was opened Alison turned to Toby. "Get in the safe."

Melissa responded to Alison's demand by dragging Spencer a few feet away by her hair and digging the gun deeper into her temple. At this angle Spencer and Toby could make eye contact, and in hers he saw indecision. She didn't want him to go in the safe, but she didn't want to die either. He was sure that she saw determination in his, because there was no question for him. If it meant keeping Spencer safe there was nothing that he wouldn't do.

After shooting a reluctant nod in Alison's direction he carefully stepped in the safe.

"We just need Hanna and Caleb to complete a little task. If they're fast enough you will be fine. Do it Melissa."

Melissa sprang into action and shoved Spencer hard into the safe, the door slamming firmly shut behind her. The safe was large, but it was not large enough to comfortably fit two people. Spencer, unable to control where she was going, slammed hard into his chest.

The pain overwhelmed him for a moment, but he still managed to catch her. His arms tightened as she tried to move away. Not happening.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

It still hurt a lot, so he clenched his teeth and waited for the pain to pass before he tried to speak. "I'm fine."

Doubt colored her features, but she let it go for more pressing issues. "We're going to run out of air, Toby."

He had thought of that, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant thought. Suffocation was not his ideal way to die. He purposefully slowed his breathing down. Panicking and taking more than his share of the air wasn't an option for him. Especially when Spencer's life was also on the line. "Let's not worry about that yet. Maybe Hanna and Caleb will get to us in time."

She sighed and wrapped her arms around him as well, hiding her face in the folds of his shirt. "I'm sorry."

Her tone worried him. She definitely didn't sound like herself. "What for, sweetheart?" It wasn't often that either of them used pet names, and that should have been a key indication as to how worried he was about her.

"This is all my fault." Her forehead pressed against his shoulder, her labored breaths rocking through her body. It sounded like she was crying, but since he couldn't see her face he wasn't for sure.

That confused him because he didn't know what she was talking about, but what he did know was that he had to calm her down. They would get through this, but not if she panicked. "Calm down Spence. What are you talking about?" He rubbed a soothing circle out on her back and rested his head on top of hers.

She nodded against his shoulder. "None of this would be happening if it wasn't for me. None of it. Either it's being caused by family, or it's being caused because I upset Alison. Maybe... Maybe I should just leave you guys. If I did maybe they would leave you alone and just come after me."

Apprehension washed over him like a wave as he held more tightly onto her. He knew that she couldn't leave right now, but he didn't want to chance it. She had to be kidding. "Spencer, you're joking right? You aren't going anywhere."

The more they talked the worse he felt. The air was getting thinner and his head had begun to spin. "Don't talk, okay? Just stay calm and hang in there. Hanna and Caleb will get us out of here."

She nodded and leaned a little more heavily on him, making it more than obvious that the lack of air was affecting her too. "I love you, Spencer." If he was only going to be able to say one more thing to her he wanted it to be that.

"I.. l-love you t-too."

He had to get her out of here. He had too. Listening to her struggling for breath was absolutely killing him. She was his life, his everything. His panic only increased as he felt her slumping deeper into his arms. He didn't feel well either, and it took everything he had to keep the two of them upright. His chest hurt and his lungs were on fire.

Just as he was going to give up hope the safe door swung open. He didn't even worry about who opened it. His arms tightened around Spencer's waist and he dragged her out of the safe along with him.


	22. Chapter 22

OMG I'm dying. I might not have the most readers, but I absolutely have the best ones. You guys are the best in the world, and I love yoooou!

The next chapter will be up at 120 reviews or on Friday morning! Whatever comes first!

Chapter 21

HPOV

Her heart dropped as Melissa slammed the door to the safe shut. Was this a joke? Was she really trying to kill them this time? Her stomach hurt as the fear overwhelmed her. "You can't shut them in there! They'll run out of air! And Toby's already hurt."

Ali let out a short sigh. "You've never been the smartest, have you Hefty? I stabbed him. I know he's hurt." She paused and turned to her with a small smirk. "But like, you can save them. You better hurry before they run out of air."

At the sound of her old nickname Hanna flinched, hating herself for reacting that way. She could feel Caleb's eyes on her, but she didn't look up at him. It was like Alison stripped all of her clothes off. She was so humiliated. Her humiliation was even more pronounced because this was occurring for Caleb to witness. He had seen her at her lowest and he loved her anyway, but that didn't mean that she wanted to remind him of those days.

Caleb put his hand on her arm. "What do you want us to do?" His voice was firm and annoyed. Thank God for Caleb, because she would be an embarrassed mess right now if it was just her.

Alison gestured to Melissa to keep walking. "Melissa, lead the way."

Melissa walked down the maze-like hallways of the Hastings house. Had Hanna been leading the way they most likely would have been lost after the third turn. Two more turns and a flight of stairs later they had reached a balcony on the second floor. Hanna turned around to face Alison. She wanted to seem like Spencer, or even Toby or Caleb. They always faced the danger with some much poise and tranquility, but she wasn't like them. She was scared, and she didn't know how to hide it. "What's going on Alison. What do we have to do?"

She smirked and leaned back on the railing of the balcony. "One of you have to push the other one off of this balcony. I don't care who does it, but just so I'm clear push means push. If someone jumps Melissa might just have to get some use out of her gun."

Melissa stood next to Alison with the gun aimed at Hanna. It was hard for her to function realizing that her life was in the hands of this girl that she never liked, but she forced herself to focus on other things. It wouldn't be beneficial to curl up in a ball and cry.

All of the color drained from her face as she continued to stare at Alison. No. No way. She had to be kidding. "No. No we're not doing that. We can't do that."

Alison shrugged and her smile grew. "Then Spencer and Toby will die. Melissa and I will keep you there until after they run out of air, and then you can figure out what to do with their bodies."

There was no way in the world she could let them die. Spencer was literally the best friend that she had ever had. She defended her from Alison's verbal attacks, ensured that she would always pass her classes, and just supported her through everything. And Toby deserved so much better than that. He was the most kind person in the world. But she couldn't hurt Caleb either. Physically hurting him would be worse than feeling the pain herself.

While she was panicking over the possibilities Caleb grasped her upper arms and turned her to face him. "Hanna you have to push me. I know that you don't want too, but don't argue with me. Don't. Just do it."

She tried to yank her arms out of his grip, but he was holding onto her too tightly. "No! You're kidding, right? You have literally done nothing to deserve this. You're here because of me. If I let you do this I will be the worst person in the world. Between the two of us it should be me, no questions asked."

A snort sounded from behind her. "Yeah, and her blubber might break some of her fall," Alison laughed.

The words hurt, but she couldn't think about that right now. She had to win this argument with Caleb. "Please Caleb, just see sense."

His grip tightened on her arms to an almost painful extent. "HANNA. Listen to me. If I were to push you I would never be able to forgive myself. I love you more than anything in the world, and I won't be able to live with myself if I hurt you."

Was he kidding? For a single instance did he believe that she didn't feel exactly the same way? "Caleb, I can't do that. I just can't."

"HANNA. DO IT." His voice had risen to a yell. She couldn't help but jump. The remorse was immediately evident, but she knew that he was serious. There was no way he was going to push her.

"Fine. But you better be okay. And I want it on the record that I didn't want to do this. I would have fought you so much harder, but Spencer and Toby have to be running low on air. And we can't let them die."

The relief on his face was immediate. He quickly pulled her into a brief hug. After pulling away he took the two steps it took to get to the edge of the balcony. "I love you. So much. After this is done go let Spencer and Toby out before helping me."

"I hate you for making me do this," she whispered as her eyes were welling up with tears. "Okay, actually no I don't. I love you a lot. But I wish it was me and not you."

He bent down to press a brief kiss to her forehead. "I love you too. Just do it."

Hanna nodded and put both of her hands on his shoulders. She took a deep breath before pushing as hard as she could. As soon as she felt him leave the balcony she whipped around as fast as she could and covered her ears. This was horrible, but if she heard his body hit the ground she wouldn't be able to handle doing what else she needed to do.

Once enough time had passed she straightened and ran as fast as should could back in the direction of the safe. Alison yelled something at her, but it wasn't even on her radar. She couldn't worry about her right now. Her friends were counting on her.

After taking a few wrong turns she managed to find the safe again. Thank God Spencer had thought to say the code out loud or else she wouldn't have known how to get them out. The door swung open as she completed the code, and she had to jump out of the way so that she didn't get knocked down by Toby. He had pulled Spencer out of the safe with him, and both were on the ground choking for air.

Between the two of them Toby appeared to be in better shape, so she directed her question at him. Every fiber of her being called for her to go check on Caleb, but she knew that she had to make sure that they were okay first. "Toby, are guys okay?"

He nodded through his coughing. That couldn't feel good. The coughs had to have been pulling on his stitches. "Okay. I need to go help Caleb. Come to the backyard when you can."

Without waiting for a response she ran down the hall and through the back door, sliding to a stop on the ground next to Caleb's figure. It gave her hope to see him moving, but God she wished it hadn't happened.

To her dissatisfaction she noticed that her hands were shaking. No this wasn't okay. She was supposed to be the strong one right now. She lightly placed her shaking hand on his shoulder. "Caleb, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he murmured. "It's just my arm."

Guilt ate away at her stomach. If she hadn't pushed him he wouldn't be laying here like this. "Don't make that face at me Han. Don't feel guilty. It's what she wants. Don't give her the satisfaction."

He was right, but it didn't make it any easier. Maybe they should have tried to fight them off instead of giving in to their request. She opened up her mouth but he cut her off.

"Hanna, seriously. You didn't do anything wrong. You actually did everything right. You saved our best friends. This is an easy price to pay for that. I love you."

She still wasn't going to feel great about this, but his was right. They didn't have time of a better plan. The whole Spencer and Toby in the safe thing put a wrench in their scheming. "Okay. What can I do to help?"

He hesitated, she could tell that he was debating on how to phrase things so he didn't set off her emotions again. "I think that my arm is broken. Maybe I should go e hospital?"

"No duh, Caleb. I was actually thinking that we should go to the circus and get some cotton candy." Talk about stating the obvious. She sighed and held out her arms for him to use to get up.

Hanna whipped around at the sound of movement behind them, and she relaxed when she saw that it was only Spencer and Toby. Thank God it wasn't Alison or Melissa, because she didn't know how she would react. Toby and Spencer were using each other for added support in the perfect symbiotic relationship.

"Are you guys okay?"

Spencer's voice was made extra raspy from her recent struggle for air. Hanna watched with a smile as Toby's hand brushed across Spencer's throat after she finished talking. She wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish, but they were basically so sweet that it gave her a tooth ache. But there was also something else in Spencer's eyes that wasn't usually there, and Hanna wasn't sure she liked it. "Are YOU okay?"

Spencer shrugged off Hanna's question. She let go of Toby and staggered over to Caleb. "Can I see your arm?"

Hanna tuned out Spencer and turned to Toby with a concerned frown. Spencer the first aid goddess could take care of Caleb. As of right now she was definitely more worried about Spencer. Once she was close enough to Toby that she could whisper without Spencer hearing she leaned over and muttered into his ear, "what's wrong with her?"

Toby grabbed a hold of Hanna's arm, obviously still needing a little help. Concern etched its way across her face. "Are you okay?"

His grip tightened slightly. "Don't worry about me. I think Spencer feels guilty, and I'm worried she's going to do something stupid."

Hanna bit her lip and nodded. That was so like her best friend. For someone so smart she was definitely prone to life altering stupidity. "We'll just have to stop her."

Before Toby had a chance to answer her question Spencer began speaking. "I did the best I could, but he needs to get to the hospital."

Hanna glanced at Caleb and laughed at the makeshift splint that Spencer had constructed on his arm. "Alright MacGyver. Do you know where we're going?"

She nodded and walked off toward the car without a word. Toby put his hand on Hanna's shoulder to stop her from walking. "Will you go talk to her? She doesn't ever want to seem weak in front of me, but maybe she'll tell you what's going on." He asked her, the desperation more than evident in his voice.

Hanna appraised his posture to see if he could handle it. He seemed like he was in pain, but he also seemed more anxious about Spencer. "Yeah I can do that. Just help him to the car."

She turned and ran after Spencer, wanting to get as much time with her as she could before Caleb and Toby caught up. Come hell or high water she would figure out what was going on with her best friend.

* * *

APOV

"What now, boss?"

Alison surveyed the scene spread out on the lawn in front of her. Those bitches just survived everything didn't they? "I have a an idea."

Melissa smirked and leaned against the railing. "What's that?"

"Give me your phone. We're going to send your sister a little text."


	23. Chapter 23

Guys! I hate to say this, but this story is coming to an end. If my outline stays true there are two chapters and an Epilogue after this one. I leave it open for a sequel, but I have an idea for another Spoby story I want to write first!

You all are so amazing! The next chapter will either be up Monday morning or at 118 reviews! Whichever comes first! The next chapter is another intense one! The next chapter is also LONG. I'm like not even halfway done and at 2,000 words! But I don't want to divide it up if I can get away with it because it will leave you guys with a horrible, nasty cliffy.

Chapter 22

SPOV

Spencer wasn't one to give up easily. When she wanted something she would go after it and she would fight for it as hard as she could. But right now she didn't see any way out.

"Spencer."

She tensed as she heard Hanna's voice come up behind her. Normally she enjoyed spending time with Hanna, but right now she just wanted to be alone. She had to figure out what to do. How was she supposed to deal with this? Almost her entire family was working against them. How could she justify staying with Hanna, Caleb, and Toby when it was only hurting them.

"What do you want, Han?" Her voice was quiet and she could hear how upset she sounded. But she didn't care. Hanna had known her for her entire life. It's not as if she couldn't tell how upset she was.

Before Hanna had a chance to answer her her phone went off in her pocket. If it was Alison she was going to lose it. She wasn't able to suppress an eye roll as she saw that it was Melissa. That was just as bad.

_Leave them and we won't bother them anymore. We'll follow you and leave them alone. -Alison_

Reading the text message was like a punch to the stomach. She almost lost her cool seeing her worst fears confirmed for her. This was all her fault. She had to leave. She didn't know where to go, but she would figure it out. Sleeping on a park bench somewhere would be okay as long as she knew that her friends were safe.

"Spence, who was that?"

Shit. She forgot about Hanna. "Don't worry about it, Han." She knew that that answer was not going to satisfy Hanna, but she didn't have the emotional stability or mental capacity to formulate a better lie. All she had to do was distract them long enough to get to the hospital and then she could slip away. They weren't going to get hurt anymore because of her.

Hanna flashed her a dubious frown and climbed into the back seat. Spencer got into the driver's side and turned up the radio, hopefully making it obvious that she didn't want to talk.

Unfortunately it was obvious that Hanna didn't care. Not that it really surprised her. Hanna had always been rather aggressive when it came to comforting someone. "Spencer, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." She paused before continuing, "Spence, your arm is broken. Should you even be driving?"

This wasn't going to work. She may have had a point, but even with her broken arm she was the best one to be driving. Instead of answering Hanna she turned the radio back up and unlocked the door for Toby and Caleb, who she could see coming in the rear view mirror. Toby slid into the front seat with a wince. His wince of pain made her all the more determined to leave and protect them. "Are you okay?" She asked him just loudly enough to be heard over the radio.

Her face stayed pointedly turned away from him. But instead of allowing her to continue to look away he placed one of his hands on the side of her face and gently turned it so that she was looking in his direction. "Spencer, look at me."

Reluctantly she lifted her eyes to meet his. Concern for her was all that she saw. She wished that she could tell him what she was thinking, but he would just try to talk her into staying; and that just wasn't something that was acceptable. It didn't matter if it hurt her. It didn't even matter if it temporarily hurt him a little bit. He would be better off if her family was no longer to hurt him or any of their friends.

When he saw that she was looking at him he shut his eyes briefly before speaking. "Spencer please. Talk to me. Tell me how I can help you," he said desperately.

The anxious tone of his voice made this all the more difficult. "We have to get Caleb to the hospital Toby."

"Oh, no rush. I'm fine!"

Under better circumstances Caleb would have made her laugh, but she couldn't focus on anything other than how to leave without Toby stopping her. "See, he's delirious."

She pulled out onto the road and made her way toward the hospital. Toby tried continuously to make conversation with her, but she only brushed him off saying that she needed to focus on the curvy Maine roads. Minutes into the drive her phone buzzed again. She instinctively knew that it was from Alison, and she wasn't disappointed.

_If you stay with him you're selfish. They'll continue to get hurt and it will be all your fault. -Alison_

For all of her faults, Alison was right. If her family hated her to the point that they were willing to hurt her friends than she had to get away. She had to be on her own. If she could do anything to protect them then she would do it.

"Who was that Spence?"

Of course he would notice. Of course he would. She didn't want to lie to him, but she couldn't tell Toby the truth either. He wouldn't understand. "My mom," she muttered as she flipped on the turn signal. Everything hurt so much. She had never felt pain like this. She had obtained her fair share of physical injuries, but she always knew that the pain was temporary. But the pain of leaving Toby and not knowing if she would ever see him again was so much worse. And Hanna. Who would she go to when she needed a laugh or fashion advice? And even Caleb. She didn't know what she would do without any of them. But living without them was far better than the alternative.

Continuous prayers that the drive to the hospital would never end were muttered under her breath. But they were in vain because they arrived very quickly. She pulled up to the front door to let everyone else out. She was going to cry, and she didn't want anyone else to witness it. This way she could get them out while she parked the car. Then she could go into the waiting room, slip Toby her mom's debit card, and then she could take the car and go. They could call a cab and everything would be fine. The $1,000 that they had in cash would be enough to get her by for awhile if she slept in her car.

"I'm going to go park. You guys can get out here." She tried to make her voice sound normal, but she still sounded quiet and sad; but it was as good as she could do.

Toby shook his head and put his hand on her arm. "I can't think of a romantic way to say this, but I'd rather chew my own arm off than leave you right now."

She couldn't suppress a small smile. He was apparently spending way too much time with Hanna, because that was definitely something that she would say. "You need to rest, Toby. Just get out of the car."

He put his hand on the side of her neck and lightly rubbed his thumb up and down. "I'm not going anywhere Spencer," he said softly once he saw that she was looking at him.

Great, this was going to make things much more difficult. But she could outrun him right now if need be. She didn't respond, because she wasn't going to be able to hold back her tears if she spoke. Once she was sure that Hanna and Caleb were out of the car she pulled away. Instead of parking nearby she parked in one of the furthest spots from the entrance to the emergency room.

"Toby..."

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Let me help you, Spence."

Her hand brushed over the raised numbers on her mom's debit card. How was she supposed to get him out of the car? "Can we go get something to drink before we meet Caleb and Hanna? I'm thirsty."

"Of course. There's a McDonalds across the street. We can bring something back for the other two too."

He was the sweetest person in the world which made this all the more difficult. He wasn't going to let her go. The walk to the McDonalds was rather short, which was the worst thing in the world. She didn't want to leave him. But God, if she could prevent Alison from hurting him further then what choice did she have. Toby walked up to get their drinks and she found a table. Once he joined her the difficult part began.

If she was going to leave him she needed him to realize just how much he meant to her first. "I love you. So much. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. Spencer, what's wrong?"

She took a deep breath and slid the credit card across the table to him. Before he had a chance to process what was going on she stood up and began walking as fast as she could in the direction of the car. By this point she was crying so that she couldn't really see where she was going, but she knew the general direction.

"Spencer!"

Why couldn't he just make this easy on her? Because she was crying so hard she couldn't see where she was going, and she tripped over something in the parking lot. She landed hard on her side, and curled up slightly to lessen the impact. She landed on her broken arm, which caused shooting pain to travel throughout her entire side. The pain from the fall didn't hurt nearly as bad as the pain in her heart.

His hands tightly wrapped around her upper arms and pulled her into a sitting position. She half-heartedly tried to yank her arms out of his grip, but she didn't want to hurt him. "Spencer have you lost your mind? Why are you running away from me?"

Her stomach hurt as she finally managed to pull her arms out of his hands. She never thought that she would love someone so much that it would physically hurt her to leave them. She stood up and turned away. "You need to let me go. I have to leave."

"What? No!" He just managed to grab a hold of her wrist before she could get away. Damn it, Toby.

"I have to Toby. God, I have too. Alison said if I left she would leave you guys alone, and that's just not something I can ignore. More than that, nothing good is coming out of spending time with my family. Nothing. My dad sold us out, and my sister could have shot all of you."

Toby stood up and grabbed her other arm just above her cast. The care and gentleness he showed in order not to hurt her made emotion constrict in her throat. She could get away from him, but if she was going to leave him then owed it to him to at least listen to him. "Listen to me Spencer. Listen to me. I love you. More than anything in the world. Don't leave me here alone. Please."

She pulled her hands away and put one on either side of his face. "Why won't you just let me protect you?"

His hand grabbed her right hand and gently laced their fingers together. "Have you never listened to anything I've told you Spencer? I love you more than anything or anyone in the world. I love you more than life itself. Leaving me isn't protecting me. I don't know how to say this without sounding lame, but if you leave me it will literally destroy me. You'd be taking my heart with you."

Halfway through his speech the tears started flowing down her cheeks like waterfalls. This was the hardest thing that she had ever tried to do. But if the choice came between hurting him emotionally and allowing him to be hurt physically she would take the emotional pain any day. She would rather he hate her for the rest of his life than have any iota of physical pain. "I'm sorry," she whispered brokenly before pulling away from him and continuing the short distance to the car.

Her fingers absently pressed the unlock button on the key fob before remembering that the batteries were burnt out. That was just her luck today. Her shaking hands fumbled with the key as she put it in the hole, but before she could turn it an equally shaky hand appeared on top of hers, stopping it.

"Spencer."

She could tell from the tone of his voice that he was crying, and that was absolutely it for her. A loud sob escaped her throat and she leaned her head against the car in front of her. "What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?" She whispered between her sobs.

Toby's hand moved from her hand to her upper arm. He gently, but firmly, turned her around so that she was facing him. She pointedly stared at the ground and in response his other hand went to her face to force her to look up at him. His eyes were bloodshot and welled up with unshed tears. "I will never leave you. I will never be able to forget you. You are _everything._ I have _nothing _left without you. If you leave it won't protect me. I will get in a cab and I will look for you forever. I promise you that much. Just let me keep you safe. Stay with me. Nothing will happen. I love you so much. Please."_  
_

His words were firm, and the truth behind them was undeniable. She knew that he would be sad, but his words helped her to realize just what she would be taking away from him by leaving. When he went to juvie for her he lost his family. They didn't care about him anymore. He had no friends from school. When he said that she was all he had he might not be lying. How could she do that to him? Could she really take away one of the only people that love him unconditionally? Toby was the best person she had ever known. He was loyal, kind, loving, and the most forgiving person. He was everything that she wasn't and he was everything good in the world. He deserved to be loved every single minute of every single day.

"I love you. If you get hurt I will never forgive you." She wrapped her arms as tightly around him as she dared and buried her face in the folds of his shirt.

"What are you saying?" He asked hopefully.

Her eyes closed in one last moment of indecision. This is probably the wrong decision; but how could it be wrong when it felt so right? "I'll stay with you."

His response was instantaneous as he kissed the top of her head and pulled her more tightly to him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she whispered.

And in that moment nothing else mattered. Not Alison, not her family, not any of the other problems in her life. All that mattered was the perfect boy that was holding her right now. He was everything, and she wouldn't be bullied into attempting to leave him again.

* * *

APOV

The bond between the four of them was too strong. After the epic failure of attempting to get Spencer to ditch the rest she was finally starting to realize that. It was time to end it before she was the one looking stupid.

Once Caleb's arm was set the four of them had driven straight back to Rosewood, which made her task all the more simple. The only thing left to decide was who deserved the brunt of her revenge. Who deserved to die?

Actually, that was no question. It was obvious who she was going to choose. She slipped the gun into her purse and walked outside. The look on their faces once she pulled the trigger would be fantastic. Everything lead up to this one moment.


	24. Chapter 24

I'M SORRY! I'm sorry I'm sorry. You'll see why when you get to the end of this. But like I can't help it okay?! I'M SORRY. This chapter was unexpected!

DRAMA DRAMA ANGST DRAMA. I love it. I'm in writing heaven. This is my kind of chapter. I hope you like it! One more chapter to go, I THINK. Well, and an epilogue.

Review, review, review! I'd looooove to get to 140 reviews before this story ends!

Chapter 23

SPOV

Considering she was a mere eighteen years old, saying that the last few days had been some of the most difficult of her life was not saying much. She had a lot of days left to go. But she was also reasonably secure in her thinking that she would have few days as trying no matter how long she lived.

After returning from Maine the four of them had immediately gone to Veronica Hasting's office. They had promised to keep them updated on what was going on with them, but it would be beyond difficult to explain to her the sins of Melissa and her husband.

As they walked into her mom's office her stomach hurt from the nerves. Her hand clung to Toby's like a lifeline. What had she been thinking even considering leaving him? He was everything.

"Spencer? What are you guys doing here? When did you leave Maine?"

She bit her lip and glanced at Toby before looking to her mom. "She found us, mom. She tried to kill Toby and I and she broke Caleb's arm."

"Well, technically I broke Caleb's arm," Hanna's voice chimed in bitterly.

Spencer glanced at her to protest, but she immediately saw that there was no need. Caleb grasped her waist with his good arm, and he pulled her to him so that he could kiss the side of her head. He murmured something in her ear, but he was too far away to be heard.

"How did she find you?"

Her mothers question caused tears to well up in her eyes, but she bit her lip, trying to control it. Toby tightened his grip on her hand in support, as if to tell her that he was with her. In the car he had offered to tell her mother what had happened, but she couldn't let him do that. It needed to come from her. "We don't know for sure, mom. But Alison told us it was dad."

"And why would you believe something like that? Your father would never do that. He loves you!"

This was basically the reaction that she had been expecting. "I suppose we don't have proof. But there's something else. Melissa was there with her. She held a gun to my head and she locked Toby and I in the safe."

"You're lying," her mother snapped. Spencer winced. She knew that this would be hard for her mother to accept, but this was just too typical. She never took Spencer's side.

Toby immediately responded by pulling Spencer against his side and responding for her. "We aren't lying Mrs. Hastings. Why would we be lying? But it's fine if you don't believe us. We will just leave."

Spencer was pretty sure that she fell in love with him even more at that moment. No one had ever stood up for her before she met him. She turned to her mom with a frown, trying to surmise her reaction.

"Let me call in your father." Her face gave nothing away, but Spencer knew her mother well enough to know that she wouldn't be asking her dad if she didn't have some inclination to believe them. Part of that had to be due to Toby's interference. She had always admired it when people were willing to stand up for what they believed in.

After a moment both Hastings walked into Veronica's office with serious faces. Maybe it was her imagination, but her father seemed a bit shocked to see them. Veronica turned to Spencer and Toby and gestured to Mr. Hastings. "Tell him what you're accusing him off."

Spencer looked down. She was good at a lot of things, but standing up to her father had never been her strong point. Toby squeezed her hand and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Let me do this."

Toby looked up at her dad and spoke in a strong, clear voice. He actually sounded more angry than anything. "We've been being harassed, tortured, and stalked for weeks. Just recently we discovered that it was Alison DiLaurentis, who apparently never died. She attacked us at your house in Maine, and she told us that you told her that we were there. She was also with Melissa."

Mr. Hastings stared at Toby like he was crazy before laughing. "This is a joke, right? Alison is dead."

Before he spoke Mrs. Hastings was staring out the ground, but at his words she whipped her head upward and gave her husband an appraising stare. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that they're lying."

At her mother's words Spencer's heart leapt in her stomach. Could her mother be coming around to the truth?

Peter Hastings frowned and looked at his wife. "Veronica, you can't be serious?"

"If you're innocent you'll stop deflecting and do as I ask."

Spencer smiled softly at Toby while watching the scene in front of her. Lawyer mom meant serious business.

"Fine. I didn't do it. Are you happy?" Peter snapped and perched on the edge of her mother's desk.

Veronica sat up straight and shook her head. "No, actually. You're lying to me and I want to know why."

Being a teenager in the Hastings house would have been a lot more difficult if her parents actually cared considering the fact that her mother was apparently a human lie detector.

"Veronica..."

"No! Peter, tell me what you're hiding!"

He took a step forward so that he was closer to his wife and reached for his hand, but she immediately yanked hers away. "No Peter. Tell me."

"FINE! She has something on me, and I couldn't refuse."

At his words Spencer winced and leaned a bit into Toby. He tightened his grip around her in response. She already knew that he was the one to sell them out, but having it confirmed for her was upsetting.

Veronica raised her eyebrows in shock, and she took a moment to collect herself before responding. "What? Tell me what she had on you."

Peter sighed and shook his head. He looked upset, but that wasn't enough to make Spencer feel badly for him. She would never feel anything but animosity toward her father again. Had it just affected her she may have been able to forgive him, but his carelessness nearly got Toby killed.

"When we were in law school I had an affair with Jessica DiLaurentis. And... and I impregnated her. Jason is my son."

She couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her throat. Of all the things in the world, that was not something that she was expecting to hear. Jason was her brother? Alison's sketchy, stoner brother was also her brother?

Her mother wasn't Pennsylvania's best lawyer for nothing. The neutrality on her face had barely wavered. "And you would rather risk the life of our daughter than to tell me this?"

Peter glanced at Spencer, who was still wrapped up in Toby's arms, before turning back to his wife and nodding. "Spencer has always been such a disappointment. If she were to die I would get over it. But I couldn't lose you."

Just when she thought her family couldn't hurt her anymore, just when she thought that she was immune to their hatred and indifference, she was once again surprised. Her father's words were like a punch to the chest. It felt as though all of the air had been knocked out of her lungs and she couldn't formulate a straight thought. They were still talking, but she couldn't stay. Immediately she pushed out of Toby's arms and left the room. She had planned on walking to the car, but she wasn't going to be able to make it. Her back pressed against the lobby wall and she slid slowly down the wall. She pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her face in her knees to hide her tears.

"Are you okay?" asked the soft voice of her boyfriend as he sat down next to her.

She should have known that he would have followed her. He would have never left her after hearing something like that. Typically she would have fought to remain strong in front of him, but after hearing her father say that he would be okay if she had died she needed all the comfort that was offered to her. "Toby..." She mumbled between her tears and shaky breaths.

She could practically feel the concern radiating off of him as he scooted closer to her and tightly held onto her. He pressed his lips to her hair. "Spencer, what he thinks about you doesn't define who you are. You are worth so much more than that. Please tell me how I can help you."

"Just hold me," she whispered and leaned into him. She didn't want to hurt him, but she also didn't think she could handle being any further away from him right now.

As they sat there someone walked into the building and a blast of cold air rushed over them. Spencer shivered and snuggled closer to Toby so that she could share in his warmth. To her supreme disappointment Toby pulled away, but before she could ask him what he was doing he had wrapped his jacked around her shoulders and pulled her back to him. "I love you. I don't care about your family. I don't care about any baggage you may have. I just love you, Spencer. I love you so much. For exactly who you are. You don't have to do anything or be anything that you aren't."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" She murmured into his shoulder.

Before he had a chance to answer a commotion sounded in the hallway. Her father walked by with a box under his arm. When his eyes fell upon Spencer he took a few aggressive steps in her direction, but she didn't move. She could feel Toby tense up, ready to defend them. "You should really think about it before you take another step."

The tone of Toby's voice alarmed her. She had never heard him sound so angry, and in all honesty, if she wasn't emotional and kind of scared of how her dad was going to react she may have found it a bit of a turn on.

Mr. Hastings paused and dropped the box. "Spencer, I may have doubted my decision before, but I never will again. How dare you break up our family, you bitc-"

The rest of his statement was cut off, "If you finish that sentence I swear to God I will knock you on your ass. I may only have one arm, but I can take you."

A surge of affection for Caleb rushed through her as she noticed him come up behind her father. Mr. Hastings turned to glare at Caleb before picking up his box and walking away. As soon as Mr. Hastings walked out the door Caleb came and sat down in front of Spencer. Shortly afterward Hanna came and joined them.

Hanna put her hand on Spencer's knee and gave her a look that was so concerned that it made Spencer want to cry again. She had the best friends in the world. "Spence, are you okay?"

She's been weak enough. Time to put on that famous Hastings strength. Her lips form into a tight smile and she wipes away and remnant of tears. "I'm fine. Thanks Caleb."

Hanna gave her a disbelieving frown, but she didn't push her. For that she was grateful. Caleb clasped her shoulder with his intact hand. "Don't worry about it, Spencer. But I kind of wish I could have taken him down a notch or two."

She smiled and sat up a bit straighter. "What did my mom say?"

"She kicked your dad's ass to the curb. And she basically demanded that we stay at your house. She told me to tell you that she loves you, but that she has a meeting that she can't get out of. She'll see us tonight, and that she'll bring Thai home for dinner," Hanna laughed.

Spencer nodded and stood up, keeping her fake smile plastered on her face. "Sounds like my mom."

Toby stood up immediately after she did and wrapped his arm around her waist. She couldn't look at him because he would see through her happy facade in about two seconds. But unlike Hanna, she wouldn't be able to lie to him. Not after all of the wonderful things that he just said to her. She leaned lightly into his side so that he knew that she wasn't upset with him or anything.

Caleb grimaced and stood up along with them. "Can we leave. This place has some bad mojo."

Spencer nodded and lead the way out the door. "Han, can you drive?"

Hanna nodded eagerly and grabbed the keys from Spencer's outstretched hand. "Yes! I love driving your fancy, fancy car. And I'm picking the music. One Direction it is!"

"Oh God, Spencer look what you did," Caleb laughed and climbed into the passenger side of the car.

Before Spencer had a chance to open the back door Toby grabbed her wrist to stop her. She reluctantly looked at him. And she was right, all she saw on his face was concern for her. "Spencer are you okay?"

She looked up at him for a moment, having no idea how to answer his question. But then she realized how she should answer, and she spoke with undeniable certainty. "I will be fine as long as I have you."

A small half smile appeared on his face. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and opened the back door for her. "Then it's a good thing that I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled for real for the first time since they arrived back in Rosewood. Toby had that effect on her. She slid into the backseat, and once Toby was inside she grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. She spent the short ride back to her house playing with Toby's fingers and staring out the window. In some ways she had it really rough, but in other ways she was the luckiest girl in the world.

As Hanna pulled into the Hastings Spencer found herself actually feeling glad to be home. She felt as safe as she possibly could with her hand wrapped up in Toby's, and she was happy to be with the only three people in the world that she knew for sure cared about her.

Before anyone had a chance to chat Spencer slowly climbed out of the car, releasing her hands from Toby. She had planned on grabbing some of the bags before the more seriously injured boys could have a chance too. Unfortunately she was interrupted when a small hand grabbed a hold of her cast and roughly yanked her backward. The pain from the pressure on her arm almost sent her to the ground, but she managed to stay upright. She tried to pull her arm away, but before she had a chance to a cold object was pressed hard into her chin. Instinctively she knew that it was a gun and she stopped moving, her body tensed up, and her eyes closed.

"Everyone get out here, now!"

Alison, of course it was Alison. Who else would be twisted enough to hold a gun to her head?

"Alison, calm down. Just let her go," Toby said softly in the kind of voice you would use so that you didn't frighten a scared animal. Spencer looked up at him and their eyes immediately met. Usually she would look away so he didn't see how scared she was, but right now she needed the comfort. As long as she looked at Toby everything would be okay.

Alison laughed behind her and dug the gun in a little more. "Why should I? Everything that's wrong with my life is her fault. She deserves to die!"

And at that moment Spencer knew that Alison planned to kill her. And since she hadn't looked away from Toby she could tell from his desperation that he realized the same thing.

"What are you talking about Alison? All of your problems were created because you treat people like moldy cheese," Hanna said from behind Caleb. Maybe she didn't get the homicidal memo.

Alison let go of Spencer's arm and decided to hang onto her hair instead, which was a better decision on Alison's part; because there was no way that Spencer was going to be able to get free without scalping herself. Alison's hand pulled her hair back so hard that she thought that she was going to pull it out, and Spencer gasped in pain. That didn't feel good.

"It's ALL her fault. Every last minute of it. I was on top of Rosewood. Everyone loved me, and no one dared cross me. And then Spencer left my group, taking the other little sheep along with her. No one could take me seriously after that, and I lost everything." Alison's voice was going up an octave, and her grip on her hair tightened.

Spencer closed her eyes before speaking. "Alison, did you ever think that maybe all of that happened because you treated people terribly?"

The world temporarily blurred out of focus as a spasm of pain shot through her head. It took her a moment to realize that Alison had hit her across the face with the gun. "Who said that you could talk, bitch? This is my time."

"Alison!" Toby's pained, angry voice was breaking her heart a little bit. She knew that if they were reversed her panic would be equal, if not greater, to what it is right now. Her and Toby were eternally connected. His pain was her pain and vice versa.

"Aw Toby, you don't like it when I hit your bitch girlfriend?" Alison laughed before smacking Spencer with the gun harder than she had before.

"-t her go!" Toby's words were a jumbled mess as she blinked her eyes open. She must have blacked out for a moment. Every time Alison pulled on her pony tail a blinding pain shot through her head. She could feel a trail of blood making its way down the side of her face.

"Spencer are you okay?" Spencer really didn't feel up to talking, but she knew that he would send himself into an anxiety attack if she didn't talk.

"I'm fine," she rasped out, not even sounding remotely okay.

She glanced up again, taking in all of her friends. Caleb looked torn between tackling Alison and staying back so that he could keep Hanna safe, and Hanna looked rather disgruntled by the fact that Caleb wouldn't let her past him. Hanna was a lot of things, maybe none more so than protective. If Caleb let her by she would probably try to scratch Alison's eyes out, which wouldn't end well for her, considering she didn't have a gun. So Spencer was thanking God for Caleb's being there.

She hesitated before turning her eyes on Toby, and she found that she couldn't look away. Fear wasn't something that she was used to seeing in his eyes, but it was very present right now. She knew that he was scared for her, but honestly, as frightened as she was, she was mostly glad it was her. She didn't necessarily believe that she was at fault for ruining Alison's life. But what she did believe was that Alison wouldn't be torturing this group if it wasn't for her. If anyone deserved this it was Spencer.

"Okay, enough of this. I'm bored." Alison tightened her grip on Spencer's hair and took the safety off of the handgun. "Anything you want to say first."

Her eyes hadn't moved from Toby's, which was good, because if Alison was going to shoot her she definitely wanted his face to be the last thing that she saw. "I love you," she whispered only to Toby before closing her eyes.

She felt Alison's hand twitch as she prepared to shoot. Before she had a chance to do so something hard ran into the two of them and tackled them to the ground. Her eyes flew open as the gun went off, and it was as though everything froze.


	25. Chapter 25

Guys! I'm kind of sad! This is the last full chapter if this story. I should have a relatively short epilogue posted pretty soon. But hey, check out my new story More Than Words! If you like this one you will like that one! It's another Spoby story, but there's no A. But still lots of drama and some sensitive issues. It's still rated T though, so it isn't that bad! ANYWAYS, review! PLEASE! I'd love to get closer to the mid-100s before it's done!

Usually I hate it when chapters overlap, but this one does a little bit. I think it's important to get Toby's POV. Hope you love it.

Yes, I realize I'm posting this kind of fast, but I honestly want to get Landslide posted so I can focus on my other story. I haven't written the epilogue yet, but it will be posted as soon as I'm done with it. I hope you love it! Review, review, review! Even if you never have before. Let me know what you thought because you're running out of chances to do so!

Chapter 24

TPOV

"Everyone get out here now!"

No. No no no no no this could not be happening. No. What higher power did they piss off to the point that this was justifiable? Spencer did not deserve this. She had literally had the worst day imaginable, and now Alison had a hold of her. He didn't know about Hanna and Caleb, but he had to save her.

Toby took a small step forward in Alison and Spencer's direction and held his hands up to show that he wasn't going to do anything rash. "Alison, calm down. Just let her go."

As soon as he spoke Spencer looked upward and into his eyes. The terror he was feeling for her was reflected right back at him in her eyes. She was scared. Spencer typically did everything that she could possibly do to hide emotions like fear. The fact that she was scared made him feel all the more desperate to rescue her. She wasn't going to get hurt. Not while he was around. He kept his eyes on her so that he knew exactly what she was feeling.

"What are you talking about Alison? All of your problems were created because you treat people like moldy cheese."

Well apparently Hanna and Caleb had followed him out of the car. Usually he appreciated Hanna's humorous way of looking at the world, but not right now. She didn't need to be antagonizing Alison while she had a gun to the head of his girlfriend.

He winced as Alison grabbed onto Spencer's hair. The thought of anyone touching her like that was killing him. He was ready to beat the crap out of Alison, whether she was a girl or not. But he knew that was a horrible idea considering the gun.

"It's ALL her fault. Every last minute of it. I was on top of Rosewood. Everyone loved me, and no one dared cross me. And then Spencer left my group, taking the other little sheep along with her. No one could take me seriously after that, and I lost everything." The tone of her voice got higher and higher as she continued talking, obviously getting more worked up. This wasn't good. Someone had to diffuse this situation before it went too far.

Spencer closed her eyes and he just knew she was about to say something stupid. For someone so smart she spoke without thinking way too often. "Alison, did you ever think that maybe all of that happened because you treated people terribly?"

Oh, yep there it is. Spencer stop talking. Before he had a chance to interject Alison slammed the gun so hard into the side of Spencer's head that he heard the vibration of the impact vibrating through her skull. "Who said that you could talk, bitch? This is my time."

"Alison!" The words escaped his lips before he even had a chance to think about what he was saying. His eyes remained on Spencer, watching her reaction. She cried out, but she managed to stay upright.

"Aw Toby, you don't like it when I hit your bitch girlfriend?" What the hell was wrong with her. Of course he didn't like it. It was literally taking everything within him not to go grab Spencer, the gun be damned.

Instead of giving him a chance to respond Alison slammed the gun into Spencer's head again, this time harder than before. Toby could see Spencer stumble and her eyes roll back in her head.

"DAMN IT. Alison, let her go!" Halfway through his words he saw Spencer stir. "Spencer are you okay?"

The blood dripping down the side of her face was not a clear indication that she was doing alright, but he had to ask. All he needed was to see her move. Come on, Spence. After a second of utter panic she looked up at him. "I'm fine."

Yeah right. She definitely seemed fine. Sometimes the sarcasm of his innermost thoughts freaked him out.

"Okay, enough of this. I'm bored." Alison said in an annoyed tone. He watched in horror as she removed the safety. This wasn't an act or a prank. She was really going to do this. She was going to kill Spencer, and he was going to have to watch.

No. No she wasn't. He promised Spencer that he would always protect her and that was exactly what he was going to do. Without even thinking through what he was going to do he leapt forward and tackled the two of them to the ground. He wasn't going to just sit by and watch this happen. He would rather one of them get hurt trying as hard as they could to escape this situation than to have Spencer die and him having just watched.

Once they hit the ground the gun went off and his entire world froze. It didn't hit him, did it? He sat up quickly, ignoring the strain in his stitches, and dove for the gun that was about five feet away. His heart nearly stopped as his hand hit a small puddle of blood, but he forced himself to continue on. Nothing good would happen if Alison got a hold of it again.

Caleb suddenly appeared next to him, and Toby handed him the gun before turning back to the girls. Spencer was laying in a crumbled ball a few feet away from away from him. Oh God, it didn't hit her, did it? He would never forgive himself if he caused Spencer to get shot. He scrambled across the ground to Spencer; his hand gently rubbed up and down on his shoulder. "Spence, are you okay?"

She moaned but she grabbed his hand and squeezed weakly. "Yeah," she coughed out.

The relief he felt was completely overwhelming. It was lucky that he was already on the ground because the sheer emotion of the situation would have brought him to his knees. "Oh thank God," he whispered. His hands found her upper arms, and he helped her to move into a sitting position. She may not have been shot but her head was worrying him. His thumb wiped away the blood on the side of her head. Alison had hit her really hard with the gun.

Alison. Speaking of Alison he turned around to see Hanna and Caleb looking at the blonde girl who was laying still on the ground. "Did... she get hit?" He asked, not sure what he wanted their answer to be.

Hanna nodded her hand covering her mouth. "What do we do?"

Toby shook his head, not knowing what to say. But before he could voice his uncertainty Spencer spoke. "Hanna, go call 911," her firm voice left no room for arguments. Hanna immediately nodded and ran off to the car to grab her phone. Caleb gave them an apologetic look before running off after Hanna. Toby didn't blame him, because there was no way in the world he was going to leave Spencer right now. Spencer shakily crawled across the ground until she reached Alison.

"Spencer, what are you doing?"

She didn't look back at him, but she answered as she struggled to turn Alison over. "We can't let her die, Toby. Help me!"

The differences between Spencer and the rest of her family had never been highlighted in such an apparent way before. Mr. Hastings was ready to have his daughter die rather than tell his wife the truth about his affair. Melissa was ready to kill Spencer and all of her friends for no apparent reason. But here was Spencer trying to save the life of the girl that had been torturing them for the past few weeks. She was incredible.

Toby slid to the ground next to Alison and Spencer. There was no way that he was going to let her do this alone. He easily turned Alison over and put his hands on her wound, pressing down hard to hopefully stop the bleeding.

"Alison! Hang in there, okay? Help is coming." Spencer put her hand on the side of Alison's face and smacked it lightly, trying to get her to stay awake. The girl's blue eyes weakly blinked open occasionally, and weak coughs would work their way through her throat. Every so often Spencer would wince and bring a hand up to her head. She was obviously hurting.

They could hear the sirens of the ambulances sounding in the background. Thank God, because he didn't know much longer he could justify trying to save Alison when Spencer so obviously needed his help. "Spence, are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me," she said softly while focusing completely on Alison.

Yeah, like that's ever going to happen. He turned his head around looking to see where Hanna and Caleb gone and his eyes landed on them talking with the paramedics who were rushing in their direction. "Spence, the paramedics are coming. Get out of the way, okay?"

She nodded and crawled away, but she didn't get up. Her back rested against a tree and she closed her eyes. Okay, that's enough of helping Alison. The paramedics are here, and they can take care of her. Toby let go of her wound and frowned as her fingers lightly brushed against his hand. He thought that it might have been her way of asking him to say, but that also was never going to happen. Not at Spencer's expense. "I hope you don't die, but I also hope I never see you again," he said softly while walking away from her.

He sat down in the grass next to Spencer and put his hand on her knee. "Please tell me the truth. Do I need to take you to the hospital?" He would wait for her answer, but he didn't really care what she said. He was taking her to the hospital whether or not he had to throw her over his shoulder and carry her.

As he was talking to her her eyes drifted downward and she swayed dangerously. He quickly wrapped his arms around her to steady her and pulled her so that she was leaning against his side. He peered downwards at her. "Spencer," he said softly, trying to get her attention.

"Mmm," she asked him in a questioning tone. He knew that was something was wrong at that point because Spencer was articulate to a fault.

"Spencer, look at me."

When she didn't move he put his hand under her chin and pulled her face upwards so that he could see into her eyes. Her dilated pupils did it for him. It was time to get her to the hospital.

"Caleb!" He called out.

Caleb's head whipped up from his conversation with the paramedics and walked over to Toby. "What's up?"

He gestured to Spencer helplessly. "I think we need to get her to the hospital. Like right now. She's not responding, her head is bleeding, and her pupils are very dilated."

"Okay, okay are you alright to carry her?"

He definitely probably shouldn't be lifting anything heavier than a loaf of bread, but he wasn't going to say that. "Yeah, but can you drive?"

Caleb nodded and ran to get Hanna and the car. As soon as he walked away Toby looked down at Spencer and brushed her hair out of her face. "I'm sorry about everything. I wish she hadn't hurt you. I'm going to pick you up, okay? I'm sorry if it hurts." As he was talking he put one arm underneath her knees and one around her shoulders. He gritted his teeth as he lifted her upward. Usually her light body wouldn't have been a burden at all, but right now the pressure it put on his stitches was rather painful. He laid her across the backseat of her car and put her head in his lap.

"Spence, wake up? Please." He brushed her hair back gently over and over again to hopefully provide some degree of comfort to her. Several minutes into the car ride she mumbled something unintelligible and reached for his hand.

He put his hand back down where she could reach it and the fact she weakly grasped it was encouraging. His head leaned down towards hers so that he could hear her better. "Say that again?" He murmured hopefully.

"My head hurts," she whispered, her voice breaking at the end.

God, if he could take all of the pain from her he would. It would be so much better than watching her suffer like this. "I know, baby. Just hang in there, okay?"

She nodded softly and winced in response. He put his hand on her neck and lightly stroked it. He would have run his fingers through her hair, but he didn't want to make her injury any worse. "Spencer, can you keep talking to me? You need to stay awake." His hope increased a bit as he glanced out the window and saw that they were almost at the hospital. He could hear Caleb and Hanna softly conversing in the front seat, but he couldn't bring himself to care about what they were saying.

"What should I talk about?" she murmured, burrowing her face into the leg that it was resting on.

"Just keep talking," he said softly as they pulled into the hospital lot.

"I feel like an elephant woke up this morning and started tap dancing on my head," she mumbled and squeezed his hand weakly.

Despite the tense situation he found himself laughing quietly. "We're here Spence. Is it okay if I help you up?"

Spencer nodded so he put one hand on her back and one of the back of her head to ensure that she had appropriate support. Slowly he took his hands away, and the fact that she was holding herself up now was also rather encouraging. Maybe she was just having a moment. He slid out of the car before reaching back in to help her out.

As she came out of the car she stumbled against him, but he managed to keep her upright. "Do you want me to carry you?"

She shook her head immediately and tightly grabbed a hold of his arm. "No, just help me," she said softly.

"We'll go in and get started on the paperwork," Caleb said softly and walked quickly toward the emergency room with Hanna.

They staggered slowly across the parking lot. Toby wanted nothing more than to carry Spencer inside. He would do anything to relieve her pain. They walked into the Emergency Room where Hanna had apparently worked her magic, because they were directed immediately to an examining room.

Toby helped Spencer onto the exam table. When he was sure that she was comfortable he sat down on a chair next to her. "Spencer are you okay?"

She smiled softly and nodded at him. "My head is spinning and I feel like I got hit with a semi, but it could be a lot worse."

He snorted. "How could this possibly be worse?"

Her hand reached out and brushed over his. "That gun could have shot one of us instead of Alison."

Toby hadn't really thought about that since he had first thought that Spencer had been shot, and even the thought was enough to send a flash of unnecessary panic through him. He had come so close to losing her today, and he hadn't really processed that yet. He grabbed both of her hands as tightly as he dared. "I just... am so glad that she didn't shoot you. I know that sounds obvious, but God Spencer, I was so scared."

She smiled softly and leaned in to kiss him. Her movement was careful not to bump her head. If it was up to him he wouldn't have touched her until she was checked over by the doctor, but he understood the need to be close to each other because he was feeling the same thing.

"The only reason I'm okay is because of you. I love you so much."

"I love you too," he murmured. They just stayed connected for a moment before something crossed his mind, and he couldn't help but question her about it. "Spence, why did you try to save Alison?"

She pulled away a bit and looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

His hand trailed down her jaw and rested on her neck. Her eyes were still unfocused, and it was worrying him. But at least they were at the hospital where she could get help. "I guess I just don't understand. She had tried to kill you multiple times in the last few weeks. Why work so hard to save her, even at your own expense?"

She bit her lip and leaned a little bit against his shoulder. She was obviously not feeling well, but she wanted to answer his question. "I had a hand in creating the monster. I could have stopped being her friend with more grace. She lost everything when I left, and I can't really blame her for being mad at me."

He sighed softly. She was always so willing to take on the pains of the entire world, even when it wasn't her responsibility to do so. "Spencer, you do know that this isn't your fault, right?"

Spencer nodded against him. Good, she was nothing if not logical. "No, I know it's not my fault. But I can see how Alison may think that it was. And as angry as I am with her I don't want her to die. She deserves a chance to get better."

Just when he thought he couldn't love her more she proved him wrong. Spencer put on a tough front, but inside she had a lot of love to give. That fact had never been as apparent to him as it was right in this moment. "You know what this means though, right?"

"What?" Spencer whispered into his shoulder.

He smiled as her words tickled his neck. "No matter whether Alison survives or not, we're finally free. We can make sure that she gets sent to Radley where she can get the help she needs. But she won't be able to hurt us anymore."

Spencer pulled away with a smile so that she could look at him. "That's definitely worth a little head injury. I love you."

He leaned in to kiss her nose, and couldn't help but smile as she laughed. "I love you too."

At that moment the doctor walked in. Toby released Spencer and moved his way to his chair to wait while the doctor worked on her. He couldn't stop his smile from growing as he watched the doctor clean her head wound. She was so beautiful and strong. And he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life showing her how much he loved her.


	26. Chapter 26

Guys! I'm so sad! I don't want to end this, but I have to move onto bigger and better things! Like seriously, if you haven't checked out my new story though, go do that! I'm pretty excited about it! It's called More Than Words and there are two chapters up. I really really really will be uploading this one more slowly, but that's okay because the chapters should be much longer. ANYWAYS a few thank yous!

Jdurst99. You have literally reviewed every single chapter of everything I've written, so how can I possibly not thank you first and the most! You are WONDERFUL! And when you told me I helped convince you of the awesomeness of Spoby?! YEEEES. Best thing I've ever heard! Stay on the side of the awesome, you won't regret it! :)

hopeforspoby. You leave the best reviews in the entire world. Like every time that I see that you've reviewed I can't help but smile! They're so exciting! You are so great and I'm glad you've enjoyed my stories!

Pllspobyhaleb. You came a little later in the game, but you're still so awesome! Your reviews are wonderful as are your PMs! I'm glad you found my stories and that you're liking them! And you should have more confidence, because your story was so good!

Here we go! The end of Landslide! I've left this open to a sequel. But I want to focus on more than words for awhile, so it will be awhile if it happens.

If you really want a sequel tell me in the reviews! I don't want to write something you guys won't read.

Epilogue

SPOV

She pulled her jacket more tightly around herself as she hurried through the hallway. For a location that housed people whom needed special care they certainly didn't take very good care of their facilities. After a moment of wandering through the maze-like hallways the nurse who was acting as her guide gestured to the correct room.

"You have ten minutes, honey. I'll be waiting out here to escort you back, so if you have any issues just let me know."

Spencer nodded and hesitated before walking through the door. She didn't want to do this, but somehow she thought that it was necessary. This was something that she would have to do in order to move on with her life. Her eyes moved from the ground to face the bright blue eyes of Alison DiLaurentis.

"Alison," she said softly and sat on the chair next to her bed. The nurse had warned her that she wasn't talking, but Spencer knew that she had to try to visit regardless. She wasn't sure why she felt such an obligation to come see this girl, but she did know that she wasn't going to be able to move on with her life until she did.

She sighed and put her face in her hands. "Well if you aren't going to talk you can just listen to me. First I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me so much. I stopped being your friend because of the way you treated us, and I wish you could understand that that didn't mean that I didn't care about you anymore. You were my best friend for a lot of my life."

Her hands started shaking and she had to take a quick pause before continuing. "But what you did to me? You turned my family against me. You tried to kill me and you tried to kill my friends, the only people who have been there for me for my entire life. How could you? Nothing I did to you ever deserved that kind of response. And you know, despite everything you did to me I still fought like hell to save your life."

A bitter laugh escaped her throat as she looked up at Alison again. "I don't regret it. I don't even regret becoming your friend, because without you Hanna and I never would have met. And she IS a good friend. She is someone I'd trust with my life, and you gave me that. So thank you."

She stood up from her chair and looked down at Alison, for what she hoped was the last time. "I almost feel sorry for you. But not enough to come back. Have a nice life Alison."

She turned on her heel and walked out the room. She dodged past the nurse and made her way back through the winding hallway. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine people getting lost back here for hours, but Spencer had always been good with directions. It didn't take her long before she was pushing through the double doors and into the waiting room.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

Spencer turned in the direction of the voice of her waiting boyfriend and stepped into his arms. She didn't really want to talk, she just wanted to feel the security that she only felt when she could feel his arms around you. "I love you," she murmured into his neck.

"I love you too," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

As they walked out together she felt nothing but grateful; grateful that she survived this mess and grateful that she had the best people in the world in her corner.

APOV

She watched as Spencer walked out of her room. As soon as the door shut behind her Alison couldn't help but smirk. The bitch thought it was over. She thought she'd give up so easily? Alison laughed as she lifted up the edge of her mattress and reached for the cell phone she had stashed there. She typed out a quick text.

_It's time. Start with Hanna. -A_

The sound of someone approaching her room caused her to put the phone back under the mattress with a start. As she sat down she felt more hopeful than she had in awhile. Those bitches thought that it was over. It wasn't over by a long shot.


End file.
